59th Congress I 
1st Session I 



SENATE 



I Document 
I No. 534 



Orville Hitchcock Platt 



I Late a Senator frorn Connecticut) 



Memori?i Addresses Delivered in the 
Senate and House of Representatives 



First Session of the 
. 5, Fifty-ninth Congress 



Compiled under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing 



WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFnCE :190b 



AUG ::. 1906 
D.of'j. 









1% 



^ 




J-J '£J >J . £J PiVi htS. M . P'U^rt 



TABLK ()]• COXTI'XTS. 



rriiL'cc-cliiiys in tin.- Siii.iti.' 5 

I'rayc-r by Rev. Kduanl l-;. I lak' 9 

Address of Mr. Bulkcley, of Coiiiurliiiil 1 1 

.•\ddress of Mr. .\llison, nf Iowa 24 

.Vddrcss of Mr. Mori^.ui, .if .Mal.aiiia 32 

Address of Mr. TilUr, of Colorado 37 

.\ddress of Mr. .\ldri>h, of Rhode Island 40 

Address of Mr. I.odi^r, of Mas.s.ichuseU.s 43 

.\ddre.ss of Mr. Daniel, of \ iri,nnia 5" 

.•\ddress of Mr. Perkins, "i California 61 

Address of Mr. Nelson, of Minnesota 67 

.Address of Mr. r.everid.'.;e. of Indi.m.i 73 

.\ddress of .Mr. Ke.in, of New Jersey 82 

.■\ddress of Mr. I'.randeyee. of Conneelienl S4 

Proceedings in the House 95 

Prayer by Rev. Henry N. Couden 97 

Aildress of Mr. Sperry, of Conneelienl 99 

.\ddress of Mr. I.illey, of Coniieetieut 104 

.address of Mr. Henry, of Conneelieut I07 

.•\dilress of Mr. Hi,a;gins, of Coniieelient 112 

.\ddress of Mr. Hill, of Conneelieut 1 14 

.\ddress of Mr. I'.iym-, of New York 117 

Address of Mr. Clark, of Missouri 122 

Aildress of .Mr. Shennan, of New York 12S 

Address of :\Ir. Crosvenor, of Ohio 131 

3 



Death of Senator Orville Hitchcock Platt 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE 

Dkckmbkk 4, 1905. 

Mr. lUi.Kiu.iCV. Mr. President, it is iiissad duty to announre 
to the Senate the death, since tlie close of tlie hist session of 
this Iiod\-, of the .senior Senator from Connecticut, Hon. 
OrvillK Hitchcock I'l.vtt, who died at his summer resi- 
dence, Washintjton, Conn., April Ji, 1905. 

I desire, Mr. President, to olTer the following resolutions for 
the consideration of the Senate. 

The \"ick-Pkksii)K\t. The Senator from Connecticut otTers 
resolutions, which will he read. 

The resolutions were read, as follows: 

/yfso/zrt/, That the .Senate with ileep regret has listened ti> the an- 
nouuceineiit of the deatli of the Hon. Orville Hitchcock PlaTT, for 
more than a quarter of a century a member of this body, a period marked 
b}' five consecutive elections, as a Senator from the State of Conneitieiil. 

A'esolz'cd, That the Secretary communicate a copy of these resolutions 
to the House of Representatives. 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the memory of the 
deceased the Senate <lii now adjourn. 

The \'iCH-PKKsrnKXT. The ijuestion is on agreeing t(.i the 
resolutions suhmittetl li\' the Senator from Connecticut. 

The resolutions were agreed to unanimously; and the Senate 
(at 12 o'clock and 25 minutes \.. ni. 1 adjourned until to- 
morrow, Tuesday, December 5, 1905, at 12 o'clock meridian. 

5 



6 Proceedings in the Senate 

FkhRTAKV 2S, 1906. 
MEMORIAL AOnRESSKS OX THK I.ATK SKNATOK I'l.ATT. 

Mr. lUi.Kia.KV. Mr. I'resideiil. I desire to g;ive notice that 
on April 7. ininicdiately after the routine niorninj^ business. I 
shall a.sk the Senate to consider resolutions in commemoration 
of the life, character, and public .ser\-ices of my late colleague, 
Hon. OkviiJ.i-: Hitchcock Pi.att. 

Tile X'icic-Pkksidkxt. The notice will be entered. 

M.VKCii 23, 1906. 

MKMORI.M. ADDRKSSKS OX THK I..\TK .SKX.\TOR O. H. I'l.ATT. 

Mr. Bri.Ki:i,KV. Mr. President, some time ago I gave notice 
that on April 7 I would ask the Senate to consider resolutions 
commemorative of the life and sen-ices of my late colleague, 
Hon. Orville H. Pi,.\tt. On account of engagements of se\- 
eral Senators who desire to speak on that occasion, and of other 
public exercises that are to take ]ilace on that day, I desire to 
change the date to Saturday, April 14 — one week later. 

The \'iCK-PRnsii)i;NT. Notice will be entered. 

KXKCrTIVE SKSSIOX. 

Mr. Penrose. I move that the Senate proceed to the con- 
sideration of executive business. 

The motion was agreed to; and the Senate proceeded to the 
considoiation of executive Inisiness. After five minutes spent 
in executive session the doors were reopened, and (at 5 o'clock 
and 25 minutes p. m.) the Senate adjourned until Monday, 
March 26, 1906, at 12 o'clock meridian. 



]'rou('(/i//i; s in llii' S(>iati' 7 

Al'KU. (1, Iyo6. 

M];m()Kiai, addrhssks ox thk i.atk skxator cjkvii.ij-; h. 

I'LATT. 

Mr. Allison. Mr. President, I tlesire to call the atteiuimi 
of the Senator from Connecticut [Mr. I?i:i.Kia,Kv] to the fact 
that the 14th of April had lieen selected at his reijuest f(.)r 
memorial .ser\'ices on <mr late coUeagne, the former Senator 
from Connecticut, Mr. 1'i,.\tt. I iniderstand that on that day 
there is another service to take ]>lace on the House .side of this 
Capitol, I therefore think it would he well, if the Senator be 
willing' to do so, to 11 x another da\ , a week from the time 
heretofore selected, on which the memorial .serAaces .shall take 
place. 

Mr. BuLKELEv. Mr. President, the .Senate will rememljer 
that I originally requested that the 7th of April be selected for 
eulogies on my late colleague, Senator Platt; but on that day 
ceremonies were to take place in connection with one of otir 
buildings. I therefore asked the Senate to change the date for 
the meniijrial services until the 14th da_\- of April; and now, in 
accordance with the suggestion of the Senator from Iowa [Mr. 
Allisox] , which I think is entirely proper, I will ask the 
Senate that the memorial services over my late colleague take 
place on Saturday, April 21. 

The \'ice-Pre:sidext. The Senator's notice will be entered. 

April 16, 1906. 

message; from the: hoi'se. 

A message from the House of Representatives, l)y Mr. W. J. 
Browxixg, its Chief Clerk, announced that the House had 
pas.sed resolutions commemorative of the life and public serv- 
ices of Hon. Orville Hitchcock Platt, late a Senator from 
the State of Connecticut. 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES. 

vSaTI'mijav, .Ipnl ji, uji>6. 

The Chaplain, Rc\-. IvinvAun Iv Halk, oiTtTcd the followiiiii 
prayer ; 

Lit us now piaisi' /ai>i(>iis inoi and our fatluis thai bii^ot us. 
The Lord hath wrought threat glory by thriii through His great 
power from the beginning . Leaders of the people by their eounsels 
and by their knowledge of learning meet for tlie people, wise and 
eloquent in their instruetions. 

Let us pra>-. 

Father, we thank Thee for the fathers who founded this nation, 
and we thank Thee for tho.se who went liefore the fathers who 
founded the colonies and made these States; for the men who 
knew God and believed in God, and planted their State on the 
everlasting foundations; who knew no kiiii; but the Kin^^ of 
kings, and no lord but the Lord of lords. We thank Thee 
that such men and their children live to-day, that they are with 
Thee in bringing in Thy kingdom, and we ask Thee that the 
spirit that was in the fathers may be with us to-day, even in 
our calamities; that we may bear calamity as the children of 
the living God; in our prosperity that we ma>- gi\-e Thee the 
praise and not take it for ourselves. 

Be with the Congress, Father. Be with all the States. Be 
with the President. Be with all the nations, to bind all men 
together in one. We ask it in Christ Jesus. 

Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy 
kingdom come. Thy will be done ou earth as it is done in 

9 



lO fjfc nnd Character of Oriille II. Plait 

Heaven, (iive us tliis day our daily hread. Forjjive us our 
trespasses as we forjjive those wlio tresj)ass against us. Lead 
us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. I'or Thine is 
the kinjidoin. and the jiower, and the >i;lory, forever and ever. 
Amen. 

MKMOKI.M. .VnOKK.SSKS ON THE I..\TF. SEN.\TOR ORVII.I.E II. 

PL.VTT. 

Mr. Ihi.KKi.KV. Mr. President, some weeks ago I gave 
notice that after the close of the routine morning business this 
day I would ask the Senate to consider re.solutions in regard to 
the life, character, and public service of my former colleague, 
Hon. Okvii.le H. Pl.vtt. I send the resolutions to the desk 
and ask that they may be read. 

The X'ick-Pkesident. The Secretarx- will read the re.solu- 
tions submitted by the .senior Senator from Connecticut. 

The Secretary read the resolutions, as follows: 

Ri-solvfd, That the Senate has heard with profounil .sorrow of the death 
of Hon. Orvili-K Hitchcock Pi..\tt. late a Senator from the State of 
Connecticut. 

Rtsolvfd, That a.s a mark of respect to the memory of the deceased the 
hu.siness of the Senate be now suspended to enalile his associates to pay 
proper tribute to his high character and distinj^uished ])ubHc services. 

Rfsolvrd, That the Secretary communicate these resolutions to the 
House of Representatives. 



AtMrcss oj Mr. /iii/k('/i-\\ of Connecticut 1 1 



Address of Mr. Bulkeley, of Conneqicut. 

Mr. lin.KKLKY. Ml. l'n.-^i(kiil , siiux' the clusi.- of tin- last 
ses.sioii cif tiu; Ccini;r<-ss CoiiiiL'Ctictil lia.s liec'll (lt-]iii\-t.-(l li\ lU-alli 
uf the .scr\icc (if its iHstiuijuishccl citi/L-ii ,iiul Senator, ()k\'ii,i.k 
Hitchcock Pi..\TT, whose htV. eliaracter, and piihUe serx'iee 
we here recognize, and this da\- connneniorate. For ^wk: con- 
secutive terms hi.' liad been cho.sen with rare iinaniiiiitx- to re]>- 
reseiit his nati\e State in this great legishitive l.ioch-. 

.Senator Pi,.\TT was a profound sttnlent of colonial history, 
especialh' as coiniected with the Connecticut colony and vState; 
an enthusiastic admirer of the exalted t>i)e and high eliaracter 
of the men that were instrumental in its early settlement and 
development, and a lo\al devotee of the representative form of 
government which tlie>- conceived and established. He was a 
firm believer in the inspiring and godl\- faith which led them, 
without love of adventure or hojie of worldh- gain, to .sever 
the ties of h(.ime and country and faiiiih-, and to seek in a new 
and unknown land an abiding place where they might worship 
their God in their own way and according to the dictates of 
their own conscience. 

" vSinall time had they then for the mere ideal; 
Their love was truth, their present life all real. 
They walked the world, faith'.s vision never dim; 
Saw not God's works, they only tjazed on Him." 

These men. Pilgrim and Puritan alike, were well equipped 
for the Ma.ster's work which they had undertaken and to which 
they had devoted their lives. Their religious enthu.siasm and 
their unbounded faith inspired them with undaunted courage 
to struggle with jirivations and adversities, to conquer the 



12 Life and Charactir of Orvillt II. Plait 

wiUk-rness ami tlic treacherous foes with wlioiu they were 
siirroiiiided and constantly contending in their new settlements. 
The love of lilx;rt>'. strengthened I)\ the renienil)rance of the 
tyrann\- from which they had escaped, actuated them to con- 
cei\c and inaugurate a goverinnent of the jK-ople, so beneficial 
in its character, so ideal in its simple mechanism, so perfect 
in its workings that it has been handed down from generation to 
generation, modified in its organization, but its i)rinciplcs and 
its integrity pn-served. 

The compact signed in the cabin of the Mayfloicer^ followed 
by the written constitution framed l)y the founders of the 
Connecticut colony, and confirmed t)y royal charter, was the 
fiiiuidation of written con.stitutional government throughout the 
world, and under these governmental concessions Coiniecticut, 
both as a Colony and a State, lived for nearly two centuries. 

The religious element in these new-founded .settlements for 
a long time naturally predominated in public as well as in 
churchly affairs; church and state were clo.sely allied through- 
out the formulative jx:riod of colonial life, and the influence 
of the pastors was almost luiliniited; they were the teachers 
as well as the ministers, supervised the educational privileges 
of their several connniuiities — simjile though the>- were in the 
early days — and frequentlj' filled the place of the good phj\sician 
and counselor. 

The meetinghouse was the active center of the conununil\- 
life. Within its doors all public interests were discus.sed and 
action determined. It was often u.sed as a place of refuge for 
protection and defense, and on the Sabbath for a place of 
worship; the meetinghouse and the schoolhou.se grew uj) side 
by side, and o\-er l)oth the j)astor ordinarily presided. 

Of the men of the times of which I have spoken it is appro- 
priately written on a memorial tablet erected to conunemorate 



Address of .\/r. l!iilL-fh\\ of Ciiinuiliiiit 13 

the lives of Ihc first settlers of one of our ancient Connecticut 
towir;, anioui; whom were nuiuhereil Richard I'latt ami Mar\-. 
his (le\-oteil wife, the ancestral heads of the faniil\ in America: 

Coil sifted .1 whiilr ii.itinii that he miylit send ilidice )iy.\\\\ iiili> llu- 
wiUlenifss. 

Men of such character and abilities, founding; such institu- 
tions as they estahlished, religious, f;o\ernn\ental, and educa- 
tional, could not fail to leave the ini])ress of their lives upon 
their own times and upon the si^nerations of men that were to 
follow them. I venture the thou.t;ht that from the colonial life 
and works of these men our great vSenator gathered the ins])ira- 
tiou and power which controlled his own long and useful life. 
In an imjiressi\-e historical address, delivered on the occasion 
of the one hundred and .sevent\--fifth anniversary of the first 
church of the town in which he lived, having in mind the 
earh' days and their intluence upon the jirfe.seut, he spoke these 
words ; 

" There is one word in our language of wonderful significance, which no 
definition that has been written completely expresses; that is ■infiuence.' 
I like to believe, and do believe, that no good deed was ever done, no 
good word was ever fitly spoken by any human being that is not to-day a 
living force and power in the world; that the world is what it is because 
of the deeds done and the words spoken by those who have gone before, 
not onlv bv the remembered great, but the humble, unremembered souls 
sleeping in unknown graves. If man is unmortal, he as truly lives in the 
past as he will in the future. We bury the body, but the unbound spirit 
lives and labors. Thoughts are forces; words are agencies; deeds are 
power." 

Of the life of the settler-immigrant and his inunediate de- 
.scendants written historx- gives hut little record, but we find 
that Richard Piatt, with his wife Marw with their children, 
arrived from England and located in the New Hax'en colony. 
It is reasonable to assume that he was dissatisfied with govern- 
mental or religious condition.s — in this cidon\- they were closelj- 



14 /-./'/<■ i^iid Character of Oriillr 11. Plait 

united — for in \hy) he, with sixl\' others, organized a new 
church society and removed to and settled tlie town of Milford, 
where he lived throughout liis life. It is well to remember 
that differences in doctrine and practice led generally to the 
formation of a new church society and eventually to the settle- 
ment of a new town, to which the di.sagreeing element woidd 
remove. 

Richard Piatt and his descendants were prominent factors in 
the connnunities in which they lived; served their fellows both 
in civil and church office, and were often lionored with military 
rank in the local train-band. Dnriui;- the war of the Revolu- 
tion father and son fought .side by side in the Continental 
Army. At the clo.se of the war John Piatt .settled in Washing- 
ton, Coini., and here David Ooukl Piatt, the father of the future 
Senator, was born, and in 1^17 married Almyra Hitchcock. 

Their home can be ])ictured as one common in Connecticut 

rural communities. I find its inmates described as "plain, lui- 

a.ssiuning, good farming j)eople of the sturdy New Ivugland 

type, in whose home were fo.stered intelligence and piety." 

Another writes: 

" I wa.s at lioiiie iu your father's house. He is one aiiionj; the early abo- 
hlionists who is silhoucUoil on my meuiory most vividlj-. Your mother 
was a heroic soul — one in Ifii thousand." 

Slavery had existed in Connecticut since early in the .seven- 
teenth century: misuited to New P'ngland surroundings, it was 
gradually disappearing from the State: the antisla\'erv senti- 
ment was just beginning its struggles, and tlie home of Piatt 
and his a.s.sociates were the centers in which the leaders gath- 
ered to forward the cause in which they had enlisted. They 
were denoiuiced from the pulpit, ostracised in society, and jjer- 
-secuted in their business; ])ui>ils were withdrawn from the 
academy on account of the \iews of its teacher until its num- 
bers were .so depleted that its doors were closed, and as a final 



Adiircss of Ml. Unlkcl, \\ of i'oiniii/iiitt 15 

])iini>liinciil I'l.ATT, Uk- leaclicT ( '.unn, and Uiu^l- inUrc.slL-(l in 
tlu- new nidVL-uient w ithdiL'w or wx-ic dismissed t'ii>ni the 
church. 

Okx'ii.i.k HiTciiCdCK I'l.ATT was l»irnjnl\- iij, iSjy, in the 
town iif \\'ashins;ton, Conn., in tlic home to wliich I have 
alhuU'd. The traditions of the .State, tlie li\-es and example of 
its foiiiidfrs of colonial and revoliitionar\- times, the ;.;(idl\ inlln- 
ence of the home life, and the daybreak of the awakened strni;- 
gle for libert}' were his priceless herita.s.je. 

His early education was in the primiti\e district scIkjoI. from 
which he j^raduated to enter the academy, tau,i;ht \i\ his father's 
abolition friend, for instruction in the liigher branches, and later 
became associated with Doctor Gunn as assistant. It was tliis 
close association as pupil and teacher with this cotiraj;"eoiis, 
heroic spirit that ijave the directing motive to and marked out 
his ftiture career. 

Witli the closing- of the academ>-, Doctor Gunn. with his 
assi-stant, Platt, renuned to Towanda, I'a. , the home of I)a\'id 
Wilmot, the author of the W'ilmot provi.so, and where to be an 
aljolitioni.st did not subject a man to obloipiy, and reentered 
their work. After a few months Pl.vtt returned to Connecticut, 
entered the law office of Gideon H. Hollister, at Litclifield, 
Conn., and in 1850 was admitted to practice. Returning to 
Towanda, he completed his le.gal studies in the office of the Hon. 
Ulysses S. Mercur, afterwards cliief justice of the supreme court 
of Pennsylvania, and w'as likewise admitted to practice in that 
State. While residing at Towanda he was married to Miss 
Annie lUdl, who died in iSy^v lu April, 1.S97, he married 
Mrs. Jeannie P. Hoyt, nee Smith, daughter of the Hon. Tru- 
man Smith, his early friend and adviser. 

Retaining his love for his native vState, he determined to 
again locate there and make it his future home, and, acting on 



1 6 Life and Character of Orzille JI. Plall 

the advice of his friend, Hon. Truman Smith, a member of the 
Senate, and whose successor he proved to be in later years, the 
youn^ attorney .selected one of the stru^jjlinjj industrial com- 
munities !Us a promisinjj field for his future work, and made the 
then town of Meriden, Conn., his lifelong home. Tlie profes- 
sional life of the countrx' attorney at this period failed to yield 
even a rea.sonable pecuniary reward, as clients were few and 
fees necessarily limited; but these conditions did not di.scourage 
the young lawyer : he had determined to be a master of his 
profession and to win his way to the confidence and supjwrt of 
his fellow-lownsmen. 

His leisure hours furnished ample time for study and to par- 
ticipate in the various intere.sts of the developing town. He 
was known as a public-.spirited citizen, and everything that yy&x- 
tained to the general welfare received his enthusiastic inves- 
tigation and merited support. He was cons])icuous in the 
organization of nearly every industrial corporation that came 
into existence; he perfected the charter and set in motion the 
municijial governnient of the city of Meriden. He connected 
him.self with the l'"irsi Congregational Church and became 
interested in all its work. A pupil in his class in the Sunday 
school has written me : 

"Oftentimes he woulil become so intensely interested in his subject 
that lie would seem almost inspired." 

Amid the hours of his busy life he found time to gratify his 
love of nature acquired in his boyhood days, and a tramp 
through the woods, or a day on the brook, or with his gun, 
gave him ample hours for recreation: and these pastimes were 
his delight through his life. 

The educational interests of the town were his constant 
study, and to their broader and modern developmet he gave the 
benefit of his resourceful miud and enthusiastic .support. In 



.■li/i/r,.s\ ol Mr. liiilL-(li\\ of Cmnh'ttinil \~ 

kilcr \cars lit- ,L;a\T L-xpro^inii lo Uic suci-i-ss of llu- <.-ilucati(inal 
swsteni that had hceii f<)Stcr(.-il in ConiiL-oticiit in an address at 
the dedication of a free inibUc hlirary: 

"\Vf have been wont lu glorify the common school as the foundation 
and means of our common growth. Our nation could never have been 
what it is to-day, nor what by faith we perceive to he its future, uitliout 
its rare development i>f the educational spirit. Kilucation in its widest 
sen.se is the corner stone or our n.itional temple. The free ])ublic librarv 
is but the advanced connnon school. Its opportnnilv is not a |;ri\ ilege ; 
it is a connnon right. True men and women continiu- to aci|uire knowl- 
edge while they live. When education is finished growth ceases, decav 
commences. The soul is ilead th.it shnnliers, the living is the onlv grow- 
ing .soul, and without books the soul would starve and die." 

The moral atmosphere of the town fell the elevating influ- 
ence of his iiersonal life. He was an open and coii.sistent 
adherent to the cause of temperance, which throtighotit his 
h.ino- life he ne\'er ceased acti\'ely to advocate and encottrage, 
Ixith in jirivate, and in pttblic legislation. 

His political jarinciples and party affiliations were alread>- 
firmly e.stabli&lied ; his associations in his earl\- home with the 
leaders of the antislavery agitation had inspired him with a 
love for his fellownien and their inalienable right to life, lib- 
erty, and the pursuit of happiness with which they were 
endowed. He recognized the effective power of principle as 
successfully exercised by the infant antislavery or liberty part>- 
in a Presidential campaign, its first appearance as a political 
factor. He had seen new territory acquired wliich gave fresh 
impetu.s to the .struggle between freedom and sla\-ery. In the 
Presidential election of 1S48 he cast his first vote, and identi- 
fied himself with the Free Soil Party and gave his influence 
and support to its candidates. 

Gradually but surely the young attorney had succeeded in 
winning the confidence and respect of his fellow-townsmen, 
S. Doc. 534, 59-1 2 



l8 Life a>id Character of Orvillc 11. Platl 

which was his chosen standard by which to measure the suc- 
cess of liis work, and naturally he became a leader in the re- 
ligious, busitiess, and social life of the community. 

Mr. Pl.vtt was not an avowed candidate for public office, but, 
accepting a nomination in 1.S53, was for three succes.sive terms 
chosen judge of probate, and in 1855 clerk of the Connecticut 
senate, and in 1857 secretary of .state. He was prominent in 
the organization of the Republican party, and was closely asso- 
ciated with its leaders, and to its princples and purposes he was 
a devoted adherent the remainder of his life. Repeatedh- se- 
lected to represent his town in the general assembly of the 
State, serving in the .senate 186.1-1862 and in the house of 
representatives 1864 and 1869, he was accorded the party lead- 
ership, and as speaker and chairman of the judiciary committee 
conducted the legislatiiin with conser\atisni and marked abilil\-. 
Profes-sioual demands were now more requiring; his extensive 
law practice called for his constant personal supervision, and 
had for him greater attractions than public office, and for a 
time he declined to accept further political honors. In 1877 he 
was appointed to the responsible position of State attorney for 
New Haven Comity, which office he held until his election as 
United States Senator in 1879. 

Mr. Pl.\TT was nominated and chosen Senator by the General 
Assembly of Connecticut January, 1879. One of the leading 
contestants for the jxjsition was his old-time abolition friend. 
Gen. Joseph R. Hawley, who two years later he welcomed as a 
Senator, and for twenty-four years they remained as colleagues 
in this tody. 

The results of the caucus came as a surprise to the people 
of Connecticut, but recognizing the alnlities displayed in the 
.sen-ice of the State by the newly elected Senator, justified the 
choice. The citizens of his home town, gratified at the new 



Ac/drrss of' Mr. Ih(lk(-lr\\ <i/' ('didiii/i'ih/ 19 

hoiKirs which liad cihik- Ici tlicii" lY-llow tow nsiii.in. joiiR-d re- 
.^■ardless ot faclioii cir ])art\- in a uniai kalik- (k-nioiistratinii nf 
their achiiiratiun I'm the man. In H'S]>(insi' to the- tjrt-i-tinys of 
his townsmen, hi- annonnceil the simjiU piineiple that would 
guide his action: 

"Just iiiiw iviivtliiiiv; is iR-w .nicl srcMTis unreal. I e;ni seareelv a|)])re- 
ciate the future. How I .shall walk iu the new ]iart iu wlneli I .nil set time 
will .show. I ilo knew tliat I shall try to do riijhl .is I s, e the rii;lit." 

And this itile was the magnetic needle that directed and 
marked otit the conrse of his Senatorial career. 

He took his seat at the e.xtra session of the Congress, March 
iS, i.Sji). well equijipeil f<ir the new obligations which had so 
unexpectedl)- lieeii thrnst tipun him. Connecticut institutions 
in town and State organization were a .school of political edti- 
cational life; in the .school district, chtirch .societw and town 
meeting the people were accustometl to di.scnss and to direct all 
local affairs and interests, and in the general court of the 
colonial and the a.s.sembly of modern times the representatives 
of the people fitted themselves for advanced legislative work in 
the council chambers of the nation. 

He found as colleagues the master spirits ol legislation of 
both Hotises of Congress throughout the war period, who had 
been joined by the .great militarx' leaders, transferred from the 
field to the forum, to a.ssist through peaceful legislation the 
great work of recon.struction. and to work out the intricate 
problem of the future of the Republic. 

A generation nearl\' has pas.sed; one by one the names that 
illumined the roll of the Senate ha\-e l)een eliminated, and to- 
day but three of its then members remain to respond to its roll 
call and participate in these memorial exercises. 

Determined to be a master in his work, he entered upon 
it with the same enthusiasm and spirit that enabled him to win 



20 Li/c luid Cliaractcr of Orvillc H. Plntt 

his way in liis early professional career. Accepting an assign- 
ment ujion the Committee on Patents, on which he remained as 
member and chairman for nearl\- the whole period of his Sena- 
torial service, he was enabled to render material assistance to 
his inventive and ingenions constituency in perfecting and 
strengthening the laws which to them were of so great material 
interest and the groundwork of a large degree of their pros- 
])erity. As chairman and member of the Connnittee on Terri- 
tories, he familiarized himself with the needs of the great 
developing sections of the country, and was an active partici- 
pant in the legislatiim fur the admission into the Tnion of the 
States of Montana, Washington. North and South Dakota, 
Wyoming, and Idaho. As chairman of the Connnittee on 
Culian Relations, he formulated the initial work that carried 
the blessings of liberty to the oppressed, and in what is now 
known as the " I'latt amendment." cemented friendly relations 
with the newborn republic. He gave his be.st thought and 
untiring industry to all matters of legislation and gradually 
won his own ]ilace in the front rank. He had high ideals of 
the duties and responsibilities of governments, and in an earn- 
est di.scussion of the currency cjuestion, involving, to his mind, 
the honor of the nation, uttered this .sentiment: 

■■rioveriimcnts, like imiividual.s, have- characters; and if tlicrt i.s any 
grander sight in this world to behold than the character of an upright, 
hone.st man, built up by acts of integrity and honesty and uprightness, it 
is the character of a government built U]) from its beginning by acts of 
inttgrity and honor and honesty, with no blot on its record; and if there 
is anything sadder in this world than to see a man who has achieved .such 
a character throw it to the winds by a .single ilishonorable act, it is to see 
a great government that has built up a name for hone.sty, integrity, and 
nobility of character throw it to the winds by a single dishonorable act. 
God grant that that blot may never be i)ut upon the character of our 
Government." 

Senator Pi..\TT was not a great orator. I wunld ralliLi liken 
lim to and recall him as the Roger Sherman of our own times, 



Ai/i/nss of Mr. Hiilkrlrw of Coinu'cticut 21 

as I find Sln."nium (lescril)c-(l in a ^lowini; liisl(ir\ of tlu- Cun- 
tiucntal Coii.uivss: 

" No mail siiriia-.M-il him in ca|i.ii'ily, iiilliKiuT, ami slniii^'lli. 1 h- was 
neitlier (.IikiiuiU nor iinpassionccl. As of St. I'anl, it mij^lit have ln'cn 
said of him, 'liis s]tf(.'ch ' was 'of no aci'ounl," ami \(_l. likt.- St. I'aiil, 
his wcinls cairiiil wai^lU far surpassiiin thosr of tin- mrri- (■rator — word.s 
that will gnick- ami insjiirr mankind to tlu' latest titiii'. 

"There was in him kind-heartedness and industry, ]Kiietr.itioii and 
close reasoning, an unclouded intellect, superiority to passion, intrepid 
patriotism, solid judgment, and a ilirectness which went .straight to the end. 

" He lacked magnetism, but though he did not possess genius, he had a 
gift of accomplishment, which is greater than genius. He never triim]>ted 
his own praises. He seemed to be indifferent to the applau.se of his 
fellows, and to have never thought that his own work entitled him to 
credit or praise. One act done, he proceeded quietly to the doing of 
another. Common .sen.se, integrity, lofty purpo.se, unfaltering persistence, 
supplemented by wide knowledge and intense patriotism, .seem to have 
been his distinguishing traits. He took up his life as a humble (shoe- 
maker) attorney; he laiil it down as (our) Connecticut's national lawgiver." 

His confidence in the ^reat nia.ss of the jieiiple to niaintain 
our representative form of government was alisohite. He 
appreciated the sacrifices which the fathers endured to estabHsh 
and the enthusiasm with wliich their descendants ralHed to 
preser\'e and perpettiate its lilessings. In liis own words: 

" Liberty meant in revolutionary days, as it means now, all that men 
hope for, either for themselves or for posterity, and the self-governed 
stale meant an enjoyment of all the blessings of liberty. Remember, too, 
that in all ages lines of human liberty have b en advanced by the poor 
and lowly." 

The Senator's presence and participation on puhUc and 
historical occasions was eagerly sought, and to such requests 
he willingh' acceded so far as his official duties and strength 
would permit. His addresses were word pictures and reali.stic 
delineations of the historic men and their times and the heroic 
acts and generotis lives of the founders and jiatriots of colonial 
and revolutionary days, the intinence of whose life and acts, he 
felt, was ever inspiring. 



22 Life and Character of Orville II. Plall 

The dignity of his presence always ga\e an added interest to 
the gatherings of the people, the earnestness of his manner 
commanded the close attention of his hearers, and the moral 
lessons which he never failed to inculcate, and the influence of 
a godly Christian character, which he deemed so essential to 
the welfare of society and for which his own j)ersonal life was 
so conspicuous, furnished ample food for thought and reflection. 

The jieople of Connecticut never failed in their confidence or 
loyalty to their Senator. His whole public life of untiring 
industry, sterling integrity, and devotion to duty realized their 
expectations when they selected him from their own ranks to 
represent them in the council chamber of the nation, and con- 
firmed his own declaration at the outset of his Senatorial life — 

"I sh.ill try to do rij;lit .is I st-e the rijilit." 

Senator Pi.att rounded out his service in this body as chair- 
man of the Judiciary Committee, of which he had previously 
l^een a memljer, and as your presiding officer on one of those 
rare occasions in the history ui our country that this Senate 
has been called n])ou to exercise its constitutional judicial 
functions. His work of accomplishment ended with the Fiftj-- 
eighth Congress and the short executive session that followed. 
He closed his great career with an unsullied record and repu- 
tation, the jieer of the honored Connecticut Senators, Ells- 
worth. Sherman. Johnson. Trumbull, Buckingham, and others 
that preceded him. 

His last public act was to particijiate in the legislative 
memorial exercises at the State capitol, in Hartford, in mem- 
ory of his long-time friend and colleague; friends when — 

" creeds could not bind the con.sciences of such men. They found .1 law 
lii^fher than creeds; Ihey inquired only their duty to T.od and man. and 
did their dutv as thev saw it." 



.Ii/(/riSs oj Mr. lUilkilcw of Coiim-iticut 23 

His iiuUL' tod ru<;>;x-il fraiiK- had wearied in its work, the 
Ihrolibiiii; heart pulse was to iiini the inciphetie warning of a 
near reunion and renewed aeti\'ities in the life beyond, as he 
depicted in lovin.>j, tender words his j^raceful tribute to the life 
and character of Connecticut's idol soldier and statesman that 
had already entered into the new life; it was a "good-by" and 
not a farewell. 

The needed rest and recreation he sou.ijht in his home in his 
native town, "little Washington," as he would designate it, but 
the coveted rest never came until " he slept with the fathers." 

He had honorably filled his own place both in private and 
public life, and left behind an imperishaljle name to illumine 
the annals of his State and nation. He had fought the good 
fight and kept the faith; with an unclouded mind, with a 
characteristic faith, and an undimmed eye he had seen in an 
awakening vision — 

"An angel, writing in a liook of sold ; 

Exceeding peace had made him ( Ben .\dhem ) liold. 

.■\nd to the presence in his room he said, 

' What writest thou?' The vision raised its lieail 

And with a look made all of sweet accord 

Answer'd : 'The names of those who love the Lord.' 

'.\nd is mine one?' said he ( Adhem). ' Nav, not so,' 

Replied the angel. He spoke more low. 

But cheerily still, and said : ' I pray thee, then. 

Write me as one who loves his fellow-men.' 

The angel wrote and vanisherl. The next night 

It came again, with a great wakening light. 

And .show'd the names whom love of God had bless'd, 

.\nd lo! his (Ben Adhem's) name led all the rest." 

He fell asleep. 

April twenty-first, nineteen hundred and five, 

Washington, Connecticut. 



24 Li/c and Character of Orville H. Piatt 



Address of Mr. Allison, of Iowa 

Mr. Ai.i.isoN. Mr. President, I esteem it a jjreat privilege 
to be permitted to pay a brief tribute to the life and character 
of the late Senator Okville H. Pl.-vtt, who died one year ago 
to-day at his home in Connecticut, where his birth took place 
se\-enty-cight >-ears before. I regret that ni\- own dccupalioii 
in matters of pressing public iUit>' has pre\'ente(l me from 
making suitable prejiaration to speak in fitting terms of his life 
and public services, but the portraiture of the senior Senator 
from Connecticut [Mr. BrLKELEv] has so well delineated the 
character of our late colleague that it seems almost unnecessary 
for me to speak of any special trait. 

Senator Pl.vJT came here on the iSth day of March, 1879, 
and at that desk took the oath of office. Reserved until within 
a few days of the lime of his death, including the entire extraor- 
dinary .session of the Senate which conxened on March 4, 1905. 
I was present when that oath was taken and .served with Sen- 
ator Pi, .NTT during the twenty-.six years of his .service here. It 
goes without saying that Senators who serve here for a long 
period of time come to know each other well; and it was my 
fortune to know Senator Pl.\TT intimately and to lo\e him for 
his many beautiful traits of char.acter. 

I shall not .speak of what he ditl or what he was before he 
entered this Chamber; this story has been graphicall\- por- 
trayed by the senior Senator from Connecticut to-day. I shall, 
in a brief way, undertake to speak of his .services here and the 
work he did here and the just fame he acquired here. 



.hfdri'ss of Mr. . U/isoii^ of Imca 25 

Whilst there ma\ \\.\w hreii others more hrilhant ami more 
eloquent in sjieech, nu Si'U.itor ilnrinij his term jierformcil a 
larjjer measure of Ner\-ii'e in this licidy than did Senator I'l. \'rr. 
I think the instanees are rare in our histor\' at an\' tinu- where 
any Senator has serx'ed more faithfully, indnstriousl\-, elTei't- 
ively, or more to the ailvantajj;e of his .State and his eountr\ . 

I am not surprised that, in re^iK' to his fellow-townsmen at 
Meriden, he slionld ha\e said, as jn>t i|Uoted, th.it he waN ahout 
to enter U]ion his serviee in this l)o(ly with distrust of hi> own 
ability to diseharge the new duties imposed upon him. I can 
understand how one would so feel who had never before served 
in either House of Cong're.ss ; but his ])le(lKe then j;i\en to his 
fellow-townsmen, that he would tr\' to do the rii;ht as 1r- saw 
the ri,y;ht, was fully redeemed in his twenty-six \ears of serviee 
here. 

It has been the rule in the .Senate, with few exceptions, from 
the foundation of the (lovenmient that seniorit\- in service shall 
govern in the selection of comnuttees. .So that, as has been 
trul}' said by the Senator from Connecticut, when .Senator 
PlaTT came here he found tlie positions on the most imjiortant 
cr)nunittees already taken by .Senators who, bv rea.son of their 
long service, had become prominent in this bod\' and in a .greater 
or lesser degree prominent in the country, so that in his first 
term of service conditions required that he should take positions 
on minor connnittees. 

During the early years of his .service he was a])])ointed on the 
two important committees of Territories and Patents, and he 
serv^ed on the Connnittee on Territories for twelve \ears con- 
tinuously, and in 1.SS7 became chairman of the connnittee. 
This connnittee had important work to do during; llie whole 
period of his service, and especiall\- important during the \ears 
of his chairmanshij). In i.S.Xi, four new States were brought 



26 Life and Character of Orvillc II. Plait 

into the Union unck-r the leadership of Senator Platt. namely, 
North and South Dakota— the old Territory of Dakota l)einK 
divided in order to make two States — and Montana and Wash- 
ington. During the following year, under his guidance as chair- 
man, Idaho and Wyoming were also admitted. He had broad 
views on the .subject of the admission of new States, l)elieving 
that this great northwest country, then being rapidly developed 
through railroad extensions, would become an imi)orlant por- 
tion of our Union as respects its agricultural, industrial, and 
mineral development. So that under his influence and guid- 
ance twelve additional Senators were admitted here. This 
expectation has already been abundantly realized by the rapid 
progress and development of those States since their admission. 

During his service on the Connnittee on Patents he brought 
forward and .secured the passage of imiwrtaut measures affect- 
ing the interests of inventors, and also secured a radical and 
needed reform of our copyright laws. In the discussion of the 
questions involved in these measures he displayed full and com- 
plete knowledge of the hi.story of our copyright laws and the 
necessity for their improvement. His work in revising these 
patent laws, as well as his achievement in securing, during his 
chairmanshij) of the Conmiittee on Territories, the admi.ssion 
of the .six States I have named, merits for him high distinction 
in the annals of the vSeliate. 

It is well known to Senators, though not apparent often to 
the general public, that there is a large amount of what might 
be called "drudgery work" necessary to be done in the com- 
mittees and in the Senate, which is very important but not of 
such general public interest as to attract the attention of the 
country. This work must be done by those competent and 
faithful in the discharge of their public duties. 

When the committees of the Senate were reorganized in 18S7 



Address of Mr. . U/isoii, of /o~ca 27 

Senator Platt was, rallK-r ai;aiMst his will, as I rt- ineinhe r very 
well, persuaded to take a ])lace upon the Committee on Indian 
Affairs — a liard-workin,s;' eommittee with most important ihities 
to ])erform affectin<; the Indian tribes and Indian reservations. 
At eaeh sueeeeding Congress, tlioiigli anxious to retire from 
the committee, because its work was exacting and iliffirult in 
coiuiection with other committee a.ssignmenls, b\it the impor- 
tance of the work was .so great, and his great abilitv was .so 
recognized in its jierformance. that he was persuaded to con- 
tinue in this important service for sixteen years, and was relied 
upon to prepare and formulate important legislation relating to 
these affairs. 

He gave his attention to proposed legislation coming before 
that connnittee with ab.solute fidelity, care, and industry. The 
most important legislation was necessary during the most of 
this period, affecting the relations of the Five Civilized Tribes 
in the Indian Territory to each other and to the Government. 
To this subject Senator Platt gave unremitting attention and 
consideration, visiting the Territory on two different occasions 
with subconnnittees. During one of these vacations nearly the 
whole sinnmer was occujiied in the work of preparation of a 
bill relating to the Five Ci\'ilized Tribes, which became a law 
and is the basis of the final .settlement of the relations of these 
tribes to the Govennnent. The.se questions were of the utnio.st 
importance, requiring the best ability to .solve. His whole 
service of sixteen years was arduous and freely given, though 
not an attractive one. 

■ But the most signal service in Senator Platt\s career here 
was performed in three committee rooms — those of the Com- 
mittee on the Judiciary, the Connnittee on Finance, and the 
Connnittee on Cuban Relations. Nothing better illustrates the 
value of Senator FlaTT's laljors here than the fact that he was 



28 Life and Character of Orz'illc H. Plall 

selected to deal with the ^reat public ijuestions coming before 
those important cuniniittees. 

He became a member t)f the Comniillec on I'inance in 1H95. 
That was a period of monetar\- and industrial depression. It 
was believed at that time that Congress shoidd attempt to do 
something to alleviate those conditions; and Senator Pi,att 
entered iiixm that work, in connection witli otlicr nienil)c-rs of 
the Finance Connnittee. with a ])atient industry and interest 
which finally resulted in the passage of what is known as the 
" Dingley law." Whatever may be said of the fruits of that 
law by its friends or its critics, it is certain tliat it was a most 
important and valuable ]>iece of legislation, which occiqiied the 
Finance Connnittee for many months and the two Houses for 
the extra .session of 1S97, called by President McKinley for 
that i)ur])ose. 

At a later period Senator Pl..\'rT became a meml>er of the 
subcommittee which prepared with great care the bill known 
as "An act to define and fix the standard of values, to main- 
tain the parity of all forms of money issued or coined h\ the 
United States, to refinul the public debt, and for other ])ur- 
poses." That act is, jierhaps, next to the resnmjnion act. the 
ino.st imixjrtant law with reference to our finances that has Ijeen 
pa.ssed since the close of the ci\il war. It undertook to make 
permanent and effective our imperfect monetary s\-.stem as 
respects metallic money and as resjjects our currencw making 
effective provision for the convertibility of all paper money, 
issued directly or indirectly, into gold. 

Senator Platt, associated with Senator Ai.dkicii. chairman, 
and (jthers, gave the sununer of 1.S99 practicall\- to the consid- 
eration and preparation of that great measure, which iiassed 
here, I believe, without an>- \ery .serious del)ate, although 
there was criticism of it at the time as to its effectiveness to 



A(i<h-i-ss ot M) . . }/h\()ii, I'/ /oTca 29 

acciiin]>li>h llu- piniiosr iiiUiKkil. I'.ut llu- six \-i';irs that 
ha\L- clapst-(l siiux' thai im-aMiiL- hucaiiu- a law lia\x- rrrtainly 
justified the wixlDiu of its ])assai;\-. 

The iiiiist iinportaiit single statute, however, in whicll .Senator 
Pl.A'i'T took a eonvpicuous ])art an<l of whicli he was tlie author 
was that concerniut; om- relations with Culia after the close of 
the war with ,Spain. After the close of the .Spanisli war it be- 
came apjiarent in this hoily that our relations with Cnlia were 
then, and were Iikel\- to continue to he, of snch consrcpience .as 
to require a connnittee of this liod\' to deal with them. The 
Senate in I S9i) pro\ ided for a Connnittee on Cuban Relations, 
which committee was, in its personnel, coni])osed of the older 
and most experienced members of the Senate. Senator I'l. ATT 
bv common con.sent was selected as the chairman of that com- 
mittee. How wiselx' and how faithfull\' those duties were ])er- 
fornied b\' the connnittee and b\' its chairman is well known to 
the people of this country and to the people of Cuba. 

The Piatt amendment, st> called, which was placed upon the 
Arm\- ajipropriation bill, was one of the most ini](ortant pieces 
of leijislation which has been enacted in our ])arliamentary his- 
tory, dealing, ;is it did, with our relations to another country, 
with which we were associated, but which had not been taken 
into full accord with our sxstem of government. New and 
wholly novel questions were in\'olved. 

Senator Pl.\TT and his connnittee prepared that measure, 
and ofTered it in this bod\- to be jilaced on the arni>" a])]>ropria- 
tion l)ill of lycii. I do not .i;;ive liini, and I think it would not 
be quite just to ,i;ive him, the sole credit of oriijinatin*; that 
measure. It ori,t,'^inated in the Connnittee on Cuban Relations, 
of which he was chairman. His legal and analytic mind was a 
potential force in its preparation, and he may be fairly con- 
sidered its author. It is well to note that this le.ui.slatiou was 



30 Life and Character of Orvillc II. Piatt 

considered so iiiiportaiil tliat. by uiuuiinious (.•oiiseiil, it was 
placed on tlic army appropriation l)ill antl was not considered 
as an indejxrndent nieasnre. Snch measures are only put ujwn 
appropriation bills when imperative necessity so requires, and 
when both, or all, ix)litical parties recognize the inii>ortance of 
the measure. 

These are some of the great measures which Senator Platt 
originated or particij)ated in the framing of, and were placed in 
our statutes. They will live in the history of our country so 
long as that history shall survive. 

Senator l'l..\TT was constantly in attendance here. lie was 
faithful in the performance of every duty, whether in connnil- 
tee or in the Senate itself. He was an able debater, although, 
as has been said by the Senator from Connecticut, he was 
not considered one of the orators of the body ; but if in deal- 
ing with any subject plain, logical, and concise statement and 
keen analysis are elements of oratory, then Senator Pl.vtt, by 
their exhibition here on many occasions, was able to convince 
the Senate that he had at least the (jualifications of an orator. 

Mr. President, I have only brietly outlined the long-contin- 
ued ser\'ices of Senator Pl.\tt in order to show that he well 
merited the right to be named one of the leaders of the Senate. 

In all his public service he was con.scientious in the exami- 
nation of subjects committed to his care and in tlie preparation 
of legislation brought before the Senate. 

I knew him w'ell and served with him on .some of the com- 
mittees I have named for months at a time. I learned to 
appreciate his sim])le. nuiel character and to admire his acute 
and di.scriniinatinK intellect and well-instructed mind. When 
the annals of the Senate shall be written it will be found that 
the name of Senator Pl.vtt will occupy a deservedly high 
place. 



Address of J//-. . l///s<>//, of loiva 31 

\\\- all niuuni his departure ; wc shall miss him imu'h as a 
mcinln.-r of this body and in all the relations of life. 

I regret, Mr. President, that I luue been unable to pay a 
more tittino; tribute to the character of our departed colleague, 
but could not allow the occa.sion to pass without a brief expres- 
sion of appreciation of his great attributes as a legislator and 
.statesman worthy of the first rank in the history of the vSenate. 



32 Life atid Chciraclir of Ori'illc H. Piatt 



Address of Mr. Morgan, of Alabama 

Mr. M()K(;an. Mr. President, a.s one of the tliree Senators 
reniainin.ij in this body who were the colleaj^iies of Senator 
Pi..\TT in his entire career in the Senate, an opportunity is 
aflforded nie that I never expected to have, and a melancholy 
duty of recalling to the Senate and the country the wave of 
national sorrow that followed his de])arture hence, and the 
more afjreeahle privileije of jjointinj; to his excellent example 
as a memento that is gratefully cherished by the iSenate. 

The sorrow an. "gret of his personal associates who remain 
when any good man dies is like a cloud that reflects in greater 
splendor the higher lights that are above it and then di.ssolves 
in tears, or is swept away. So our bereavement at the loss of 
Senator Pl.vtt is compensated to the .Senate and the country 
by the memory of his \irtues that we are now proud to record. 

It is high eulogium to say of an\one who lias served in the 
Senate that his moral worth, his loxalty to truth and justice, 
his learning and abilities, his conduct and example are worthy 
of a tribunal that is endowed with the broadest and highest 
powers of constitutional government. It is no less praise of 
such a man Ui sa> that, in cunnnon with American ])eople, his 
love and devotion to the country, its institutions, and its or- 
ganic law was pure, and was inspired with the single moti\'e of 
patriotic duty. 

PosteritN'. through coming generations, will say such things 
without reserve or (lualification alxiut the ser\ice in the Senate 
and in the councils of state of the great .Senator from Con- 
necticut; and that is his fitting eulogium that uoue cau now 
pronounce in its full meaning. 



Ac/dress <>/ Mr. Moi[^iui, of .Ua/nriiia 33 

His great scr\'ices were not jierfoniied in some eonsjiinious 
acts of the most \'ital imjiortance, though these are not waiitiilg 
to accentuate a career that was still more excellent liecause of 
his modest, earnest, and faithful observance of ever>- diitw His 
forceftil, successful, and controlling- leadershiji in the vSenate, 
without any manifestation of ambitious impulses or ])urposes, 
signalizes Senator Okvii.LE H. Pi.att as being a model 
American Senator, whose example, now that he is gone, is 
w-orth nearly as nuich to the Senate and the country as his 
unfailing labors were worth while he lived. 

The examjile lives and will long li\'e in the Senate, like the 
still small voice that is ever present in hone hearts, to whose 
admonitions none can turn a deaf ear witho giving offense to 
the public conscience. There is great and national reason for 
congrattilation that his example in the Senate remains to us as 
a priceless legacy. It is not always so conspicuous in its 
grandeur as to attract public admiration with its splendors, but 
it is alwa\'S true as a guide to such as are .seeking to contribute 
their labors as honest and diligent workers for the general 
welfare and for the .safety of a self-governing people. It is a 
warning against excesses in the use of the authority of their 
own laws in derogation of the true majesty of their own 
sovereign powers. It is a remonstrance against overzealous 
aggression that has often turned a good cause into a licentious 
oppression. 

Such tendencies are prevalent in many movements that are 
called "popular demands" for the reform of our organic laws. 
The memory of .Senators, among whom he was abreast with 
the foremost, still fills the Senate Chamber with affection- 
ate admonitions to their successors to guard with fidelit\- the 
e.s.sential rights of the people and the States. These will not 
.S. Doc. 534.59-1 3 



34 I-iff <^>t<'l Character of Onille II. Piatt 

go unheeded, whatever may be the clamors or the traductions 
against the Senate of the United States. 

One voice thai is no longer audible in this Chaniljer, a voice 
of sympathy and courage, still speaks to us through the voice- 
less air, like the message from a distant .shore that was 
telegraphed to our ships far out on the Pacific Ocean, and 
called them to the rescue of humanity when San Francisco 
peri.shed. 

We hear and will obey the call to duty, whisjjered to our 
hearts from the invisible shores of eternity, and the vSenate will 
still stand steadfastly in support of the Con.stitutiim of the 
United States, under our oaths to God. To Him we will bow 
in submission, as our Pacific coast is kneeling in sackcloth and 
a.shes; but no man's authority will be accepted as a release 
from our vows, whatever may betide us. 

Okvii.i.i-: H. 1'i..\tt, with a host of other great and noble 
Senators who have pa.ssed away since I first took my .seat in 
this body, is here in spirit, with the same words to encourage 
us that were spoken in his every utterance and were true in 
every act : "Be faithful to duty in the fear of God." 

Senator Pl.vtt was, in outward seeming, to those who did not 
know the shrinking modesty of his nature, a man of marble, 
cold and polished in .statuesque dignity, with little love for his 
kind. In fact, he was so tender a lover of all who were suffer- 
ing affliction or were in danger of the visitations of wrong and 
injustice that his chief joy in life was in giving them comfort 
and strength, and in lifting their hopes above dispair. 

As the great and i)roud race of Indians are disapjiearing 
from their fatherland, which no Indian wouUl ever desert nor 
Ixr driven from it Ijy forces that made death the j^^nalty of resist- 
ance, none of them will forget the sympathy of Senator Pi..VTT 



Address of Mr. Mur^m/, of Alal>a))ia 35 

in his jiatieiU, just, ami Iminaiie ilc\-()ticiu tu the ri;;hl^ that 
rc-mained tu them after more than twci centuries i)f warfare for 
tlie maintenance of their orii^inal inilepcmleiice. He proxiiled 
for them in their uecessitoiis condition ahnost as a father would 
provide for his family. His t;reat abilities and industrious 
labors were always engaged in their service when needed, so 
that none were neglected ; and the records of the Senate are a 
history of his work that carries htjuor to his memory on every 
page that relates to Indian affairs. 

His only possible reward was the consciousness of dut}- well 
and honesth- performed. 

The proud and silent nod of the grateful Indian in appro- 
bation of the equally proud and silent assistance of the great 
Senator was the only token of friendship between men who 
were sternly just in their actions, and neither of them asked 
nor expected nor granted favors. 

Old Geroninio, the Apache king of the desert, whose cotu'age 
and blood has burnished the epaulettes of generals whom he 
has fought from obscurity into distinction, is dving in his tepee 
in Arizona. He has become a de\'out and faithful Christian 
man, under such tutelage as Senator Pi,.\TT has encouraged. 

When recently asked if he desired longer to live, he answered 
"Yes; I am .still of some use here." He .said that he had some 
battles yet to fight for his trilie under a new King; that his 
enemy was no longer the white man, but the prince of darkness, 
who had destroyetl many thousands of red men in wars with 
white men. He said his trilie had gone on a new warpath, and 
he wanted to lead them against the doer of all evil. ( )n being 
assured that his death \\(.)uld lead them to the land of eternal 
rest, where they woidd foll(_iw him, he said: "Yes; I will go to 
that land of rest, where Christ is ex])ecting me, but a pour old 



36 Lijr and Cliaracltr of OrrilU- If. I'latI 

Indian can serve Him betUr here, in fijiliting the evil one, than 
he can in heaven, where he is not needed, and I hope God will 
give nie a little more lime." 

If there was one thought of regret in the mind of the great 
Senator as he was passing from death into life it was like that 
which inspired the jjctition of Geroninio when he prayed that 
God would still give him greater length of days that he might 
help his i>eople. 

Honors like these, won in the path of duty, cluster about the 
memory of Senator Platt. The\- proclaim his right to the 
homage that the Senate now offers in memory of a man who 
was truly great and good. 

" Blessed are the Jead who <lie in the Lord; yea, saith the spirit, forever- 
more, for their works do follow them." 



.!i/(/nss ii/' .]//: T,//,7\ of Colorado 37 



Address of Mr. Teller, of Colorado. 

Mr. Teller. Mr. L'resideiit, ni\' personal aciiuaintaiiCL- with 
Senator Pl.VTT commenced when he entered the Senate in the 
Forty-sixth Congres.s, March iS, iSjy, with a well-earned rep- 
utation as a lawyer and Ie°:islator. He had .served the people 
of his native State in the capacity of secretary of state, as 
speaker of the house of representatives, and as a member of 
the State senate. His executive and le<,nslative ser\'ice at home 
and his legal al)ilit\- especially fitted him for the proper dis- 
charge of his duties as a member of this Iiody. Modest and 
unassuming in his intercourse with his feIlow-meml)ers, he im- 
mediately secured their confidence in his al)ility and sincerity. 
He was industrious, painstaking in his work, and when he had 
secured the necessary facts on which to base his opinions he 
was persistent in maintaining them, which he did with a logic 
and force that usuall\- carried con\'iction, and thus he .soon 
became an influential member of this body. 

He was assigned to the -several committees with which new 
members of this liod\- must be content. He accepted such 
assignments without complaint, and innnediately interested 
himself with zeal in the work of the connnittees to which he 
had been assigned. His thorough examination of all matters 
coming before the committees of which he was a member made 
him at once a valuable member, not (.>nly of the committee tnit 
of the Senate. His careful attention to matters before the 
Senate and his positivene.ss of conviction as to matters he had 
considered soon brought him to an active participation in the 



38 Life and Character of Orrillc H. Plall 

work i)f the Seiialt. ;uul lie coiuimied lu hiihl thai relalioii to 
the Senate up to the close of the last session in which he ])ar- 
ticipated. a few weeks before his death. 

lie was a jxarty man with a strong jjartisan spirit, because 
he belie\ed his party was be.st calculated to secure the highest 
degree of jjrogress and prosperity it was iM)Ssil)le for a nation 
to attain. While he was a iwrtisini and defended the princi- 
ples of his i)arty with intelligence and vigor, he recognized that 
there were two jiolitical parties in this country, and that there 
might be both wisdom and patriotism in those differing with 
him. He was a go<xl type of Americanism, and his aspiration 
for his couutr\' was for all jjarts and all the jieople within its 
borders. 

For a little over twenty-six years he represented the State of 
Connecticut in this body, and during that time maintained not 
only the confidence of the people of the State that .sent him 
here but of all the people of other States, and he was recog- 
nized as one of the leading members of the Senate. During 
these many years of .ser\-ice in this body he stood for what he 
believed to be right, and, whether losing or winning, was 
always courteous and considerate of his opponents. 

While he was a member of this • body .se\'eii States were 
admitted to the Union, and, as he was a meniljcr of the Com- 
mittee on Territories, he ]ire])ared three of the reports favoring 
such action, and gave his cordial support to the admission of 
each and every one. 

His length of .service here was much be\ond that which 
usually falls to those becoming members of this ljod>'. Only 
few persons in our hi.story of over one hundred years have held 
the distinction of serving twenty-six years in the I'nited States 
Senate. I l>elieve the number is only twelve. 



Addrrss of Mr. T,-lh')\ of Colorado 39 

Of the sevL-ntv-six Senators who were nieiuhers ot the Inst 
session of the l'"orty-sixth Congress only three are new nienihers 
of this body, and only thirteen others are living. 

The death of one of our members who has so nian>- years 
been an active and influential menibier may properly be said ti> 
be a national loss, and I am sure every member of this body ni 
his death felt that he had suffered a personal loss. 

We can do nothing to add to his fame or reputation, Imt we 
can bear willing and loving testimoiu' to his high character, 
his many valuable services to State and nation, and express our 
profound grief at his death. 



40 Life and Character of Orvillc II. Piatt 



Address of Mr. Aldrich, oi- Rhode Island 

Mr. Ai.DKicii. Mr. PresiciciU. l\vciily-fi\c years of intimate 
and itnhroken friendship and of the clcsest a.s,sociatioii in the 
public service :ind the examination of public questions gave me 
ample oj^portunity to know and appreciate Senator Pi..\'n"'s 
character and jniblic .services. When the history of our time 
(an eventful period of remarkable national development and 
exjxmsion ) is written, the historian must assign Senator Pl.\TT 
a place in the \ery first rank of conslrucli\e statesmen. 

His advice and counsel in the consideration of grave ques- 
tions of public policy were invaluai)le, and nearly all of the 
great legi.slative acts adopted during his service in the Senate 
bear the imjiress of his mental vigor, construclixe ability, and 
.strength of character. 

In the presence of his as.sociates, and after the .statements to 
which you have listened, it is not necessary for me to enter into 
the details of his work in the Senate. That jiortion of his work 
which was, perhaps, best known to the public, although not by 
any means the most valuable to the country, was connected 
with the .solution of^ the perplexing problems growing out of 
the Spanish- American war, and especially the adoption of the 
Plait amendment. 

His valuable services as chairman of the Connnittee on Terri- 
tories and as a meml)er of the Committee on Indian Affairs are 
familiar to the Senate. Although Senator Pi..\TT was for many 
years a leading member of the Judiciary Connnittee, and at the 
time of his death its chairman, a l.irge ])orti()n of his more im- 
portant work was u])on practical (piestions not coiniecled with 
this committee. 



Address of Mr. .Mrlriili, of h'l/oo/r lsla)i,i 41 

Re-prL-SL-ntinj; a (.■oiistilueiicN' with wideh- \-aric-<l imluxtital 
interests, lit- iiaturallv took an active and inipcirtant part in tlic 
preparation and discussion of tariff Ic-iiislation. In the deliate 
upon the tariff act of iSS;; his wide knowledge of practical 
affairs and sound judgment iinjiressed the Senate. He took an 
even more prominent part in the tariff discussions of i,Si,i. and 
1S94. 

In 1S05 he l)ecame a member of the Senate Finance Com- 
mittee, and was an active and influential member of the sub- 
conunittee that prejiared the amendments to the act of 1.S97 
which were adopted b_\' the Senate. No man gave to the coun- 
try more valuable .service in coiuiection with the adojition of 
tliese important legislative acts than the Senator from Con- 
necticut. 

Senator Platt was a true son of Xew England, who.se teach- 
ings and traditions were exemplified in his life and character. 
He was conservative and at the same time fearless; he had 
none of the arts of the demagogue, and ne\'er swerved from the 
clear path of public dut\' on account of popular clamor. He 
was a careful and conscientious student of all public questions, 
and to \\\\ mind in ever>- respect an ideal vSenator. He was 
simple and just b>- nature, able, intelligent, courageous, and 
wise with the wisdom that dominates and controls. 

Although he was by nature intensely practical and shrank 
instinctively from anything like pretense and cant, >et in 
thought and action he always adopted the highest jiossible 
.standards and invarialih' followed the highest ideals. I \-en- 
ture the assertion that no man ever held a menibershi]) in the 
Senate who had to a greater extent the confidence and esteem 
of his associates than the late Senator Pl.vtt. 

I can not refrain from .saying a few words with reference to 
our personal relations. The fact that we repre.sented adjoining 



42 /.//<• tind Oiariutir of Orvillf If. Piatt 

States, wliosc industries and material interests were jiractically 
identical, was not the cause, hut rather an incident to our warm 
personal friendship. Throughout its existence there was, on 
my part, a constant growth of admiration and affection for the 
man. In every pha.se of my work here I found his counsel 
most helpful. In his death I am conscious of the lo.ss of a dear 
friend, who was, all in all, the l)est man I ever knew. 



Address of Mr. Lod^e, i>/M(issa(/insi/Ls 



Address of Mr. Lodge, of Massachusetts 

Mr. LoDCiK. Mr. I'rcsident, aiiuni!; the rL-iiiarkablc iiicii who 
framed the Constitution of tlie Ihiited vStates two of tlie nm^t 
conspicuous were Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth, ilele- 
gates from the vState of Connecticut. To them, and jiarticu- 
larly to the former, was due the .threat comjiromise which jire- 
served the power of the States in the new s^-stem by securing 
to them equality of representation in the Senate, to which was 
due, more than to any other one condition, the succe.ss of the 
Philadelphia convention and its complete, but narrf)w, escape 
from failure and defeat. The provision thus adopted in regard 
to the basis of representation in the Senate and the House was 
known as the "Connecticut compromise," in honor of the men 
whose skill, foresight, and ability brought it into existence. 
Both Sherman and lUlsworth sub.sequently became Senators 
and helped to organize the new Government which the Consti- 
tution had called into being. To Ellsworth, who was after- 
wards Chief Justice and one of the commissioners who made 
the peace with Erance, we also owe the Judiciary act — a law 
which has so long withstood the test of time and of changing 
conditions that it seems to-day to possess almost the fixity and 
sanctity of the Con.stitution itself. 

Neither Sherman nor Ellsworth was a brilliant orator like 
Patrick Henr\', nor a great administrator and leader like Ham- 
ilton, nor a consummate party chief and political manager like 
JefTenson. Thej' were public men of large ability and strong 
character, preeminently constructive statesmen of the Haniil- 
tonian school, who left enduring monuments of their wisdom 



44 I'ifr aud Character of Orvilh- //. I'InIt 

and foresight in the Cdnstitiitioii. which they hel]K-d to frame, 
and in the laws which they placed npon the statute lx)ok. 

Men, however, of such unusual character and stronji; mental 
qualities as Sherman and Ellsworth leave their mark not merely 
upon the legislation and the history of their time, but upon the 
minds of the comnuinities in which they live, a very lasting 
memorial, for hahits of mind, although as impalpable as air, 
are often more imperishable than stone or bronze. 

" Not marble, nor the gil<lc<l nionuiiieiits 
Of princes shall outlive the powerful rliynie" — 

said the greatest of all poets. The rhyme of the ])oel is but 
words, words are but the thoughts of men grown articulate, and 
yet he who shapes and influences the thoughts and imagination 
of men leaves in his due projwrtion a monument which will 
endure when iron has rusted and marble crumbled away. 

The connnunity which produced Sherman and I'llsworth was 
naturally extremely apt to receive the impress of their inlluence, 
and the.se two men stamped themselves deeply upon the modes 
of thought and upon the instinctive mental attitude toward 
great questions of the people of Connecticut who had given 
them to the nation and to the public .service. Tho.se who came 
after them insensibly followed the path their great predecessors 
had marked out. and although questions changed and new issues 
arose the habit of mind and mode of thought remained unaltered. 
Nature, we are told, is careful of the ty]K-. no matter how 
indifferent she may be to the individual, and certain it is that 
in communities of strong character and .salient (jualities of 
intellect habits of thought not only endure, but the type is 
reproduced. The type may not be continuous, Init it is .ihnost 
unfailingly recurrent. 

It always seemed to me a.s I watched vSenator I'l.vtt, listened 
to his speeches, and passed in \\\\ relations with him from 



.ItMrrss o/ A/r. /,ntfy(-^ of Massac//itsi//s 45 

ac(|Uaintance to friendship that I rcconni/cil in him the- ([uah- 
tics and tile statesnianshi]) of Roy;er Sherman and ( )li\er h'.lls- 
worth. W'lien, a few years ago, I had occasion to make a stnd\- 
of Kllsworth's career, I felt sure that I understood him and 
realized what manner of man he was becau.se I knew vSenator , 

Pl.ATT. 

This type, which I had thus found in history and then met 
in daily life, is as tine as it is strong, and comes out as admi- 
rabh' in its modern exemplar as in those which illustrated the 
great period of Constitution making and of the upbuilding of 
the National Government. Senator Pl.ATT was cons]>icuousl>' 
a man of reserved force and of calm reason. I have seen the 
calmness disappear in the pre.sence of what he l)elie\'ed im- 
ported either e\al to the Republic or wrong to man, liut I never 
saw the wisdom of his counsels, no matter how nuich he may 
have been moved, distorted or disturbed. Naturally a lover of 
all the traditions of ordered liberty and obedience to law in 
which he had been reared, and which were ingrained in his 
nature, he was as far removed as possilile from the stagnation 
and reactionary tendencies which too often injure and discredit 
conservatism. Because he clung to that which was good was 
never a reason with him for resisting change. On the contrar>', 
he sought and urged improvement always. The service he ren- 
dered in the case of the copyright law was but one instance 
among many of his well-directed zeal in behalf of civilization 
and of an enlightened progress which should keep pace with the 
march of events. His mind was too constructive ever to be con- 
tent with iunnobility or to accept the optimism satirized by \'ol- 
taire, that " whatever is, is right. " He wished to make the world 
better and the lives of men happier, and he knew this could not 
be done by doggedly and unreasoningly resisting all change and 
all advances merely because he revered the principles long ago 



46 Life and Character of Ori-ille II. Piatt 

established and had abiding faith in the foundations of free 
goveninient laid deep and strong by the fathers of the Repub- 
lic. In nearlv all the important legislation which went to en- 
actment during his long career of public service, those who will 
take the trouble to study the records will find the sure trace of 
his unobtrusive, but strong and shaping hand. One great 
achievement of constructive statesmanship which is not only 
fixed among our laws, but which has become part of the consti- 
tution of another countrj- bears his honored name. Yet there 
are many more like unto it and scarcely less important in which 
he Ixire a leading part or which were due to him alone that 
have no name attached ti> them and the true authorship of 
which will only be revealed to the future student of history 
when he is delving for material among the dry dust of dead 
debates. 

To be anonymous in his work was nuich more characteristic 
of Mr. Pi,.\TT than to affix his signature where all men might 
read it. He seemed to me not only to care less for .self-adver- 
ti.sing, but to be more averse to it than almo.st any public man 
I ever knew. He longed for results, and was finel\' indifTerent 
when it came to the partition of the credit for obtaining them. 
This is a phase of mind, a kind of personal pride and .self- 
re.spect, not unworthy of consideration, for it if sufficiently 
rare in the.se days of ours, so flooded with news and so over- 
whelmed by easy jirinting. 1 do not think Mr. Pi..\TT ever 
reasoned the matter out and then rested, .satisfied that lasting 
fame and a place in the history of the time had no relation 
whatever to the noisy notoriety of the passing hour, with its 
deafening clamors ever ringing in our ears. It was simply part 
of his own nature, because ostentation in all its forms was dis- 
tasteful to him and because he shrank from exhibiting him.self, 
his emotions, or his works as .sedulously as .some men strive 



* .Iti^i/rrss o/' J\/r. Lo<ii^i\ o/Mass(u//!ts('//s 47 

to a\-oi(l an\thiiii; which rcseniljlts rctirL-iiiL-iil or ]iriv:K-\ . His 
iiulustr\- was unllatii^ing', and, again, in small lliings as in .threat, 
in defeating; a ilunlill'ul claim as in Imildint; v\\) a tjrcat law, he 
souf^ht results and nothing elsci It he could pass the measure 
lie desired, he was more than glad to dispense with making a 
speech. If he could defeat an obnoxious hill 1iy an objection, 
or throw out a bad amendment on a point of order, he wascjuite 
content to avoid debate; but if debate was necessary he was as 
formidable as a lucid, trained, legal mind, coupled with full 
information and a power of vigorous, clear statement, could 
make him. He was thorough in all he undertook — as effective 
in the endless comjilications of a great tariff as in guarding 
against the perils which beset our Indian legislation. Outside 
this Chamber his ser\'ices to the Indians, and to the good name 
and credit of the United vStates in its dealings with those difiicult 
and helpless savages, performed during many years of inn-emit- 
tiug toil as a member of the Committee on Indian Affairs, will 
never be rightly valued or understood. It was the kintl of 
hard, self-sacrificing work for the sake of the right and to help 
others which must be in itself and in the doing thereof its own 
great and sufficient reward. 

I have tried to indicate very imperfectly tho.se qualities which 
seem to me e.specially to distinguish Senator PlaTT as a 
statesman, for a statesman of hi.gh rank he most certainly was. 
But I am well aware that I have dwelt almost exclusivelx' upon 
his effectiveness, his indifference to self-advertisement, and 
his tniremitting pursuit of results, and have pas.sed by man>- 
of the (jualities which went to make U]> the man and to account 
for his large success. His great ability, his power of work, 
his knowdedge, his sense of justice, his fearlessness in the 
battle with wrong, his capacity for working with other men, 
were all conspicuous in Mr. Platt, and all necessary to the 



48 Life ami Character of Orvillc II. IVat/ 

distinguished achicvLMiients of liis life-. He possessed also 
a very much rarer jjift in his coni])lete retention of that flex- 
ibility which is so apt to diminish as men advance in life. 
The mind, like the muscles, tends to stiffen as we grow 
older, and only too frequently no effort is made to avoid the 
consequent rigidity. Hoth mind and muscle will go on per- 
forming most admirably the particular functions to which they 
have been accu.stomed, but thev both alike recoil from a new 
idea or an unwonted exertion. From all this Mr. Pl.vtt 
was extraordinaril\- free. Neither his age nor his natural 
conservatism hindered the nio\ements of liis mind or made 
him shrink from a new idea or treml)le and draw back 
from an unexpected situation. In the last ten years of his 
life he saw sudden and vast changes in the relations of the 
United States to the rest of the world and in our national 
responsibilities. He did not hide from them <ir sliiu his eyes 
and try to rejjel tlKui. He met the new conditions not only 
with the flexibility, but with the keen interest of youth, while 
at the same time he brought to the solution of the new prob- 
lems all the wisdom of a long experience. He did not turn 
away with dark forebodings from the startling changes which 
the ru.sh of hurrying events swept suddenly njion us, l)ul con- 
fronted tliem with a cheerful heart, a smile upon his lips, aud 
a firm faith in the future of his people and of his countrj'. 

" \\i- knew him not? .\h, wi-ll we knew 
The manly soul, so brave, so true, 
The cheerful heart that conquered age. 
The chililhke silver-beardetl sage." 

A very fine jjiiblic career ended when Senator Pl.vtt died. 
In him we lost a statesman of a type which the country can ill 
spare, a thorough American type which we may well pray to 
have sustained and renewed among us. It is not a ty])e which 



Addri-ss of Mr. Loiioi-, of A/iis\tii////so//s 49 

certain L-])hL-incial ik-lanicrs, ju^t now \-cr\- \'ncal, adiiiin-; Imt 
it is to statcsiiKii ol this precise kiiiil ami stature that we owe 
in largest measure the loundaliou and oruani/.ation of our 
Cicjvernnieut and the ordered lilieilN and indi\idnal freedom 
wliicli have made the United .States what it is to-da\ . .Senator 
Platt was a man who was at once an honor to tile country 
which he Served and guided and a \indication of our faith in a 
governineut of the jK-ople wlio chose him as representatu'e of 
themselves. 

I have spoken of .Senator Platt onl>' as a pul>lic man. But 
to us here his death is much more than a pnlilic loss. He was 
our friend. Those who come after us will know of his public 
services, of the work he did, of the large place he filled in the 
history of the time; Ijut we also remember, and shall ne\'er 
forget, the honesty of heart and mind, the simplicity and jjurity 
of life, the humor, the love of books and sound learning, and, 
above all, the kindness which ne\'er failed and the loyalt>- which 
ne\-er faltered. Others may, with full faith in the destin\- of 
the Republic, we can confidentls' sa>', (ithers will come to take 
up and carry on the public work to wdiich his life was given, 
but the place wdiich the tried and trusted friend has left emj)ty 
in our affections can not again be filled. 
S. Doc. 534, 59-1 4 



e 



50 Life iTt(f Character of Orvillc H. Piatt 



Address of Mk. Daniel, of Virginia 

Mr. D.VNIKI.. Mr. President, member.s of small bodies of 
fixed miinher, like the Senate, whose niaxinuiin is ninety, hav 
shari)ly and painfully inii^ressed ujion them the passing away 
of their fellows. In cities and in populous conununities the 
death rate is about the same proi»rtion from year to year. 
Gradually, silently, and yet with unerring regularity, almost 
precise, the diniinutidu comes. The accretions of jxipulatiou 
come, too, and in the order of nature in excess of those who 
depart. So the main body of society generally presents the 
appearance of health, vigor, and continuous progress. Here, 
indeed, no chair is long vacant. Flowers that welcome the 
newcomer have often marked the black-veiled seat where his 
predecessor -sat. "The king is dead! Long live the king ! " 
This .speaks the state of power where succession is instanta- 
neous. Likewise, in all official lives the office and he who is to 
fill it make quick connection. 

Nevertheless, the .stroke that removes one who has long 
interwoven his life in the work of a great public body, who has 
bound himself in associations of friendship and cooperative 
tasks with his companions, who has become a part of the bu.si- 
ness of many constituents, who has stood forth as the repre- 
sentative of a great State and as the champion of ideas, and, 
indeed, has translated his Ijeing into law and doctrine — such a 
stroke suddenly snajjs mauy ties and dissolves many vistas of 
pleasant and in.structive contemplation. 

It must be to many, and it seems to all, as if a landmark of 
memory and hope and faith and affection had suddenly cnun- 
bled to the dust. If we lift our gaze from the tomb of a single 



. Ii/t/rrss of Mr. Daiiii-l, of I 'in^iiiia c;i 

one who has departed to sur\-ey the scene of desolation whicli 
a few years make in the ranks of a body hke this, we are well- 
nii;h appalled to realize how ■-wiftl\- and snrely death eonsnni- 
niates its work of change and dissolution. 

A short time since I heard the venerable ex-Vice-President 
of the United vStates, who worthily filled from iSSg to iScj^ the 
chair which \cju, Mr. President, now occu]iy, declare that since 
he left this seat forty of those who were Senators during his 
term of service had responded to the last roll call. We almost 
seem to hear the voice that says; 

" I am tliL- Reaper. 

All things with heeciful licok 

Silent I gather. 

Pale roses touched with the spring. 

Tall corn in summer. 

Fruits rich with autumn, ami frail winter blossoms — 

Reaping, still reaping 

.\\\ tilings with heedful hook 

Timely I gather." 

To-day, Mr. President, is the anniversary of the departure 
forever from the scenes of life of one who was long connected 
with this body. That he is freshly remembered now is only 
a token of that further remembrance which will follow. 
Okville Hitchcock Pi,.\tt, the .senior Senator from Con- 
necticut, has left us. He and Jo.seph Roswell Hawley were 
for well-nigh a quarter of a century as.sociated here. They 
were well mated — worked in uni.sou in the tasks connnitted to 
their hands. 

The former took his .seat March i8, 1S79, and was reelected 
in 1885, in 1890, in 1897, and in 1903. The latter became a 
Representative in the Forty-.second Congress to fill a vacancy, 
was reelected to the Forty-third and the Forty-sixth Con- 
gresses, became a Senator March 4, i.s.Si, and was reelected 
in 1S87, in 1893, and in 1899. 



52 I.iti- nnd Charactfr of Orril/r //. P/nft 

Both ft" iheiii well.- lioiicst. abk, and ii])rii;lil men, antl lioth 
of theni were patriots devoted to their duties as citizens and 
as Representatives. Uolh of them performed their dail\- drudge 
work with i)atieut assiduity. Both of them were efficient and 
constructive factors in the coniiwsition of measures, and both 
were enlii;htened and powerful advocates of opinion upon the 
floor. Botii of them were thoroughly imbued with the consti- 
tutional and i)olitical views of their .State, their section, their 
jiarty, and both were ihorou^hh- rejiresentative of the j)redomi- 
nant national ideas which ha\e f(jr the most p:trt shajied the 
destinies of this natinn through a lon.t4 and mighty era of stir- 
ring conflicts and of ])rodigious changes and progressions. 
Bolli of them rendered ]niblic .services of a high order, which 
have woven the threads of their accomplishments into the tex- 
ture of our national existence. Both were stimulated and 
upheld b\- the sinceritv of their faiths and b\- the faithful 
approl)alion of those whom the\' served and who sent them 
here. Both of them at the end of long lives and great 
careers t)f public usefulness sank to rest by all re.sjjected and 
beloved, and deeply mourned by those who knew them best. 
Most worthilv has the Senator from Connecticut [Mr. 
Bulkele>] who succeeded Senator Hawley, and most wortli- 
il\- have man\- of the a.ssociates of Senator Pl.vtt recounted 
and detailed the public services and connneniorated his abil- 
ities and \irtues. Others will follow me who will do likewise. 
For mv part, I sh.ill not seek to repeat nnich that has been and 
much that will be better said than by my.self. But I was the 
contemporary of Senator Pi..\'rr through three terms of Sen- 
atorial service. While I had not intimate a.s,sociations with 
him. in the contact of connnittee work I did have opportunity, 
both in the Connnittee on Indian Affairs and that of the 
Judiciary, to observe his ])atient devotion to whatex'er ta.sk 



. li/i/riss i>/ Mr. DaiiitI, <>/ I 'ii^/in'ci 53 

came fur him In clci. 1 hccanic faniiliar, also, with hi^ iii.iikcd 
traits of characlL-r, and I kanicd to ajiprcciatL' his sturdy, 
sinct-re, and stua<lfast nature. 

Senator Pi.a'I'T was a serious-minded, brave, earnest, and 
straightforward man. He helie\'ed liis creeds. To him llie\' 
were not mere forms and citations. He was alwa\ s read\- to 
stand foith to ])roclaim them and to share their fate. 

He devoted liiin.seU' with tireless energy and with tile com- 
pact and sulxlued enthusiasm of firm conviction to e\'ery 
work of detail which he undertook. He illustrated a truth 
which we sometimes o\-erlook amongst the cons])icuons and 
stirring scenes of life — 

" To know 
That which before us lies in <Uiilv life 
Is tile prime \\]s<loni." 

He was typical of his State, of his section, and of his 
party, and he w'as distincti\el\- a represeiitatixe man in all he 
stood for. Most of the great prohlems that engaged his 
thought and ciTort have found their solution through the 
processes of time, and new sails are now .seen on the horizon 
before us. 

As we seek to measure justly the men of the past we do 
not carry into our judgments the partisan feelings which in- 
flamed them or their combatants in hours of conflict, for it is 
the happy faculty of a wholesome nature to rate men accord- 
ing to the circumstances which environed them and according 
to the manner in which they dealt with their own obliga- 
tions and duty. Abraham Lincoln said on one occasion that 
he must confess that events had controlled him far more than 
he had controlled e\-eiits; and if one who was at the head of 
such might\' ])ower as he wielded could feel so sensiti\-el>' 
how little an_\- one man can do in the great nio\-ements of the 



54 f'iff """' Character of Orrillc H. Piatt 

human race, how iiiiicli more imist it Uc felt by those who 
pla>- but minor jiarts in the drama that is in their time uixjn 
tile stage. 

It can not be ciouhted that such a character, such abilities, 
such .services, and such devoted zeal as are presented in the 
story of this distinguished Senator are and will be respected, 
appreciated, and conunemorated by all his countrymen, whether 
thev concur in his opinions or not. 

I recall now, even as I seek to speak .something of his career, 
how on one occasion I saw his fine, dark eye brighten and his 
face light with enthusiasm when, with a deep feeling of admira- 
tion and .satisfaction, he .spoke of the manner in which the men 
of the South had gone to the front in the Spanish war. and I 
saw then, as through a window in his soul, how it responded 
to high and generous thought. 

There is a chapter in Bancroft's Hi.story of the Con.stitution 
which it would be well for many to meditate upon in forming 
their opinions of the characters and events which have gone 
to compound the history of this mighty framework of popu- 
lar government. He points out the lines of the assimilation 
of the American people, and traces them largely through their 
connnon language, through the abstract truths which that lan- 
guage communicated to their minds, and through its adapta- 
bility for u.se as an instrument of the common law, for science, 
for description, for the debates of public life, for every kind 
of poetry, from humor to pathos, and from nature to the heart 
and mind. 

"But"— 

He .says — 

"the (lislinclive character of the new people a.^; a whole, their nalionalily, 
so to .say, w.is the principle of individuality which prevailed anionji 
them a.s it had nowliere done before. This individuality was strength- 
ened by the stni^JKles with nature in her wil.lness, by the remoteness 



AiMrrss o/' J/r. Daniel, o/' ]'irs;iiiia 55 

fruin the abodes of ancient iiistitutiniis, hy the war ai;ainst the tradi- 
tions of absolute power and old superstitions till it developed itself into 
the most perfect liberty in thought and action; so that the American 
came to be marked by the readiest versatility, the spirit of enterprise, 
and the faculty of invention." 

No State better illustrates the truth of which the great 
American historian spoke than that which was the birthplace 
of .Senator Orvillk Hitchcock Platt; and none has pos- 
ses.sed institutions better framed by the wisdom of man to 
stimulate individuality of opinion, to spread enlightenment, and 
to open the way for tlie operations of that combined action 
through which alone the volumes of popular power can be 
delivered. 

Thomas Jefferson declared — thotigh I do not know that I can 
with precision state his exact words — that tlie Xew England 
town system was the best organization for the framework of 
society the world has ever known. It had its beginnings in 
collection of the earl}' settlers together in the simple stockades 
in which they gathered to defend their families from the fron- 
tier Indians. So, out of the heart of war, was taught a lesson 
of peace, which has marched in triumph across the continent. 
Church and school and town meeting hovise succeeded upon 
the .spot of the rude fortification. The community took part in 
their own affairs. Their selectmen exercised representative 
power under the ej'es of their principals. Home rule intrenched 
itself, and the masses strengthened their organic faculties by 
continually exercising them in their own local concerns. 

Ere the days when the railroads and telegraphs and the 
methods of modern communication of intelligence came about, 
the people who settled the American colonies formed their own 
distinct societies, made up their own opinions, and were as dif- 
ferent from each other in .some of their methods of thought 
as are to-day the citizens of foreign nations. Fifty or .seventy- 
five years ago you could almost tell from what part of the 



56 Lift- and Cliaractcr of Orvillc II. Piatt 

countn- an Ann.-ricaii came. Something in voice, something 
in dress, something in peculiarity of expression, or some other 
mark — you hardly know how to describe it — indicated the geo- 
graphical location of the person whom you met. But to-day, 
Mr. President, through independent action and through the 
powers of organic thought, the American people are fast mold- 
ing themselves together in the most homogeneous .society that 
ever was framed on so great a scale in the history of man- 
kind. Men to-day, by the mechanism of traffic, may sit down 
to a meal of the same food, no matter from what climate it 
was gathered or in what cliiuale it !■- ])artaken of. Through 
the genius of manufacture the humble.st and the richest are 
clad so nearly alike that dress is no longer an indication of 
.social rank, imless it be that one who is conspicuous therein 
marks himself for peculiar animadversion. 

The multiplication of Ixjoks and schools and newspapers has 
l)rought before all minds much of the same thought; and to- 
dav, as we stand to mourn the death of a great Senator from 
New England, we realize in his career that manliness, that 
openness, and that steadfastness which will find tributes of 
jiraise and commendation in every township and in every ham- 
let of the United States, men not caring whether they agreed 
with him or not. but conteniplating with resj)ect the fact that 
what he deemed right he stood for, and feeling that llurein he 
offered unto them the most nol)le of human examples. 

We are told, Mr. President, that offenses will come — and so 
thev do most constantly — from nation to nation, from sec- 
tion to section, from minorities to majorities, from majorities 
to minorities, from cor])<)ration to corporation, troni eluucli to 
church, and from societies and individuals of all kiutls to 
each other. " Woe be unto them by whom offense conieth;" 
but woe has never j-et been proclaimed against those who 



hoar lliL- burdL-u of utfcnses wIrii 11k-\ have i-oiir', ami tlu- 
martyrs wlm suffci' and die for the cause for which they 
stand are seldom the people who raise the \vraili,de out of 
which came the olTense of war. 

The world has not \et i^ot wise enoir^h, noble cuoul;!!, oi 
^reat enough to la\- aside the sword. I ma\- add that it 
has not \'et sjjot safe enonL;h, for men will wear swords 
until they ma\ lie down under their own vine and fii; 
tree, with none to make them afraid, and the\' should wear 
tlleni. 

There has never yet been a Quaker nation; and h'ranklin, 
the Quaker, tauyht that "we must h.ani; together or hang 
separate!)'." The Quaker statesman and phihjsoplier ilhrs- 
trated how the man of peace may be compelled to war, how 
the statesman, like unto the soldier, though not a soldier, 
must stand forth and share the burdens when offense Cometh. 
Both sides amongst nations, amongst .sections, amongst majori- 
ties, amongst minorities, amongst all bodies, and amongst all 
individuals by wdiom offen.se cometh, generally share in the 
wrong wliich brings it, directly or indirectly. K\'en as to 
strife between man and man, each is apt to have some share 
of the responsibility, and if it be not in the man or men 
who be present there, it will lie surel\' found in some ante- 
cedent of the history of them or theirs. The offense of one 
generation de.sceiids, it may be, for another to pa>- for — so 
united is man in his history, and so sure is wrong to find 
soniewdiere its retril)Ution. 

Such is man and such the infninit) of his nature, even in 
its finest aspects. This is unix'ersal truth, and it warns 
against him wdio sits in the seat of the scornful. It reminds 
Us, too, of that otlier truth, that there is some goo.l in all 
peoples, .some in all the mo\'enients of all the peoples, some 



58 Life and Character of On'ille H. Platl 

ill all the- organizations of all the peoples, even as there is 
some good in each indixidual creature. How to increase that 
g;ood, which in itself displaces what is evil, is the problem 
of mankind and the soul of the moral principle. That, too, 
is the problem to which the world is all the time, with 
unceasinjj constancy, bendinjj itself, directing; to it its loftiest 
faculties and aims, whether they be exercised by the luuiible 
workman, by the soldier, by the statesman, by the philo.so- 
pher, by the preacher, by the teacher, by the poet, by the 
scientist, or by the builder. Ivnthusiasm for the right and 
the good is the mainspring of human endeavor, and in the 
heart of the warmest and the .sternest partisan is that ideal 
which stirs the puLse and drives the arm. 

When the great laureate of lingland said, " I5est men are 
molded of their faults." this great truth is realized. When 
Christ said, "Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for .she 
loved much," He showed not only "the quality of mercy 
which is not strained," but He also showed that divine com- 
prehension which knows that error often flows from the very 
intensity of the highest and noblest attributes of man's 
nature. 

It has been said by several of Senator Platt's friends 
here — and no man can ponder this strong man's long service 
and constant devotion to his tasks of duty and fail to realize 
it — that he was an idealist. Xot one witli thirst for the vain 
shows and ])omps of life; not one with j)rurient ambition for 
ostentatious title nor for place and power. Rather was he the 
man of rigorous ideals of personal conduct and of public ends; 
not a \isionary indeed, but one who kept realities in view and 
steered his course to subserve them. A man who followed 
those ideals j)atiently, sturdily, and steadily from month to 



AfMrrss n/ A//: Daiiiil, of I'lro/nia 59 

iiKiiith, from yf:ir to year, from i;ciicralioii to ,n(.-iicr:ilioii, until 
old atjt; oallfd him to rest from his labors l)L'S])oke !)>• his ik-rds 
the sincerity that was in him and .U'l^c- hack to those who 
nplifted him the best fruits of his toil. 

It is in this character that I am pleased to think of him. 
Men who flight the battles of a people, whether it be on the 
bloody field or in the forum, or wheresoe\-er dut>' ma\- lie. learn 
to consider and to respect the opinions and worthy actions of 
others. If to-morrow there were one of us who sought to leave 
a point of honor to men who would decide it with a firm desire 
to decide it ri,i,dU, we would as soon select a cham])ion from 
those to whom we are politically ojipo.sed as from man\- who 
have been by our side. 

So, Mr. President, it affords me a mournful .satisfajtion to 
join with my collea;_;ues here in jiayin^' sincere respect t(.) the 
niemor>- of this brave American citizen, this honest and faithful 
American statesman. 

It was my prix'ilege, as a member of the Senate connnittee, 
to follow him to his .y;rave. When he died he lived in the 
same town where he was born, amongst the grand and rugged 
hills of Litchfield County, from which he went forth as a 
farmer's boy, and to which he returned ere his da>'s had been 
numbered, as a distinguished and widel_\' known American 
statesman. 

It must have been a solace to his heart to die at home, 
amongst tho,se who had loved and cherished him, who had 
watched his cour.se, and rejoiced in his succes.ses. His funeral 
was conducted in the most simple and unostentatious form. 
The people of the State whom he had ser\-ed, and the friends 
that he had knit to him liy long years of companionshiii, 
gathered together to see the last of him. They .showed e\'ery 



6o I.ifi- and Character of Orzillc 11. Plait 

filtiiiK civility ami hospitality to the cominiltee of the Senate 
who took part in the local exercises h\- its order. The serv- 
ices were coiuliicted with reliRioiis rites, in which the old 
prayers were said and the old familiar hymns were sun;; in 
the village church. Then the procession filed to the village 
cemetery, and he was laid to rest amongst the tombs of his 
people and his kindred, whom he had served so long and well. 
The sun was low in the west as "earth to earth and dnst to 
dust " was sjwken: but the heavens were bright and the .skies 
were blue above us, and the western hills were bathed in the 
splendor of the gorgeous sun.set- Presently darkness and night 
fell 111)011 the .scene. The light of a faithful life dies not with 
him who lived it. Like the light of the departed sun it shines 
on undimmed, and renews its cheering radiance as day bj' day 
it is revived to the children of men. 



Address of Mr. /\r/ci//s, of Cn/i/oniia 



Address of Mr. Perkins, of California. 

Mr. Pi'KKiNS. Mr. President, (Hic of tliL- saddest iluties 
which fall tn the lot of Members of tliis body is to express 
their sense of loss at the death of one of their collea,L,nies. 
In the death of < )KVli.l.i': H. Pl.ATT the Senate has met 
with a loss whose ma.^nitnde will be the more fully real- 
ized as time passes, for he was one of the oldest in service 
here, and on Ins Ions experience in national affairs and on 
his trained judt^nient we who came after him were accus- 
tomed to rely. It is with the sincerity which is compelled 
by long and familiar aciuaintance with a man simply honest 
and upright that we recall the attributes of our deceased 
colleague, and as he here said on a similar occasion: 

"Thore is no business more important, no hours more wisely spent, 
than those which we devote to the consideration of the services and 
virtues of departed Senators." 

Few of those who have been Members of the vSenate have 
rendered equal services to their countr>-, or have exhibite<l .so 
many and such lofty virtues as did Okville H. Pl.vtt. He 
was born in a State whose founders transmitted to their de- 
scendants the qualities which .stamped him as one of the strong 
men of the nation. The early .settlers of Connecticut must 
needs have had strength, indomitable courage, character of the 
highest order, faith, i>er.severance, and determination to have 
built up the Connnonwealth which has been so powerful a factor 
in shaping the destiny of the RepiU>lic. The privations, diffi- 
culties, dangers, and obstacles which were encountered and 
overcome by the men and women of Connecticut's early days 
developed those qualities of highest manhood and womanhood 



62 Life and Character of Orvillr 71. I'latt 

which arc universally attributwl to New luiglaiul. The weak, 
the vicious, and the dishonest could not withstand the cruel 
experiences of those years of conflict with savage nature and 
savage man. They of nece.ssit>- went to the wall, and there 
sursnved that brave and sturdy stock whose influence has been 
as a leaven throughout the length and breadth of the land from 
the foiuidation of the Republic to the present day. We may 
truly .say of Senator Pl.^TT, as he said of a decea.sed colleague 
not many years ago: 

"We are proud of our blood, a.s if it were blood alone to which we are 
indebted, often forgettinjj that ance.stral character as tran.smitted to us 
was built up little by little, slowly, steadily, but surely, by the surround- 
ings amid which our ancestors wrought and fought and died, so that as 
generation succeeded generation each took on something which it derived 
from nature and the struggle with nature. * * * Henry Ward Beecher, 
in speaking of the New England fanners, most truly said: ' Thev made 
the farms, and the farms made the men.' " 

And the manhood thus accjnired was, two hundred vears 
afterwards, represented in and characterized Senator Pi..\tt. 
In this same eulogy Senator 1'i..\tt referred to the need in the 
United States Senate not only of men of commandiug intel- 
lect, genius, eloquence, and brilliancy, but of those men of 
strong sense, industry, and unswerv-ing de\otion to principles, 
"whose general characteristics can be best described by three 
grand words — sturdy, faithful, true;" and he then said that 
he thought he would rather it .should be written on his tomb- 
stone "He was sturdy, faithful, and true" than to have it 
written "He was el(H|Uent, learned, and great." 

That those words, so expressive of steadfast hone.sty, cour- 
age, and high intention, will be his best epitaph no one can 
dispute, for we who knew him here know that to the consid- 
eration of every question he brought to bear all tho.se great 
qualities which make a man sturdy, faithful, and true, h'rom 
the lime he first held a political office in 1S57, Senator Pl.\TT 



Address of Mr. Pti-kh/s, of California 63 

distiiiKtiislied hiiiiSL-lf ;is oiiu nf the men \vli<i approached all 
imblic questions in a spirit utterl\- de\-oid oi all self-seekins; 
and with a single desire of promoting the public good. It was 
this spirit which gained for him the confidence, respect, and 
love of the people of Connecticut and which led them to insist 
that he should take an active part in shajiing the histor>- of 
his own vState and of the nation. The qualities of mind and 
heart which endeared him to his colleagues in this Chamber 
and which compelled them to seek his counsel and rely upon 
his judgment were those of a man sturdy in the maintenance 
of the right, faithful to his high ideal of duty, and true to 
the spirit of the Republic. 

We all know the sitigleness of purpose with which he grap- 
pled with all great questions. The patient study that he 
devoted to them was for the sole purpose of arriving at the 
trutli, for, like the trained scientist, he knew that truth alone 
will make a stable foundation for legislation, and that without 
truth at the bottom all legislation is worse than the falsehood 
upon which it is based. This was the cause of that laliorious, 
patient, unceasing study of financial, social, and political prob- 
lems which come before us for solution, and was the means of 
storing his mind with facts which .ser\'ed as signposts on the 
road to that goal which he always sought — the best interests of 
the people of the United States. It was this quality of thor- 
oughne.ss which made him a guide in whom all could place 
confidence and whom we could follow with the assurance that 
we could not go far astray. I think ever}' Senator will say that 
during his service here with Okvili.K H. Platt he has 
obser\'ed no one of his colleagues who was .so vigilant in watch- 
ing the course of le.gislation, so sure to discover dangers, and .so 
prompt to appl}- remedies. In his treatment of measures, as of 
men, he was absolutely fair and impartial, which commanded 



64 /-'/'• """' C/i(irai/,r of Or:///,- II. P/att 

for liiiii llic IiIkIk-sI respect of Sciuili)rs of all parties, lor his 
efforts were always for the f,om\ of all the peoi)le, and in them 
partisanship had no place. At those times when lei;islatioii of 
vital character was before the Senate, Senator I'l.ATT was 
clearly seen to he far alxjve party and to be a statesman in the 
truest sense of the term. To him the country owes some of 
the most important lei^islation of recent years — lejjislation 
alTectini< us as a nation — to which Democrats as well as Repub- 
licans gave most hearty assent. I know that he had among 
those who belonged to the opposite ])olitical jiarty as sincere 
a<lniirers and as warm friends as among his colleagues on his 
own side of the Chamber. His honesty, .sincerity, and i)atriot- 
ism broke down the barriers of party, and he was acknowl- 
edged here to be, as he .sought to be, a Senator of the United 
States. 

But Death wields his scythe here as elsewhere, and cuts 
down the greatest and mo.st useful jniblic men as he does the 
humblest citizen. The sentence which he executes impends 
over all who live, and from it there is no escape. But in 
those who have lived wisely. ]mreh . and unselfishly there is 
no fear, and men like Okvillk H. 1'i..vtt go to their re.st 
with the (juietude of those who retire to sleep after a day's 
work well done. Others will come forward to lake the places 
thus made vacant. Many will be elixjuent, many brilliant, 
many learned, many strong and powerful, but none will have 
a higher ambition, or attain it more completely than Okville 
H. Pi..\TT, who in his life work developed tho.se great qual- 
ities that he so revered in others, and which made him in 
truth a man sturdy, faithful, and true. 

It is such men as the late Senator Pi..\TT who set the high 
.standard which every memljer of the United States Senate 
should seek to reach, and none of those who have gone before 



Address of M'l-. P,t/c/ii.\ of Califoyiila 65 

arc more worthy of eiuulation tlian lit- whose nieiuor\- we now 
honor. His honesty and ahsohite fairness are obser\ahle in all 
his work, and it is this quality which made his opinions i^uides 
for le.t;islation, and (jften they were enacted into le>;;islation 
itself. Not a siv^n of selfishness or self-seeking of an>- kind 
ever appeared in what he said or did as a Senator. He oblit- 
erated himself in the work he had to do, with the result that 
that work is his greatest mommient. It was in the times 
following the Spanish-American war that he showed hini.self 
greatest, when he enunciated the policy which .should govern 
our relations to Cuba, and placed that young nation beyond 
the reach of the .selfish aggression of foreign or domestic foes. 
The great Piatt amendment marks the time when the last 
lingering desire to .secure Cuba for exploitation l)y Americans 
became impossible of attainment, and Cuba was made abso- 
lutely free and independent, with untranuueled opportunity to 
work out her destiny- in her own way. We all know how 
easy it would have lieen to have changetl entirely the future 
of Cuba; how easy it would have been to allow selfishness to 
dictate national policy at a time like that. But the innate 
justice and broad charity of Senator Platt would countenance 
no temporizing with national honor, and the Senate stood 
with him on the high ground he hatl cliosen, and the result 
is the admiration and respect of the world for the work 
performed. 

That Ijroad .statesmanship which characterized Senator 
Pl.vtt, vSenator Hoar, and others of the great members of 
the body who have ceased their labors here, .should be for all 
of us an inspiration and a guide. No narrow views should 
here dictate our action, no selfish ambitions should swerve us 
from the straight jiath of duty to the whole people and to 
the people as a whole. Domestic laws ami foreign policies 

vS. Doc. 554, 59-1 5 



66 /-//;• and Character of Orvillf 11. Platl 

should first K'> through such cruciblt purification as they were 
accustomed to encounter at the hands of Senator I'LATT. As 
he did. so should we consider without haste, deliberate with- 
out passion, weigh in the scales of justice, and decide in the 
spirit of great love all questions which come before us here. 
The conservatism of such men as he is the crowning glorj- 
of a great mind, and without such minds legislation in a txady 
like the Congress of the I'nited States would present any- 
thing but the orderly progress of republican government, 
which we have, uj) to this time, been enabled to boast of to 
the other nations of the world. It is from such minds that 
come the words of warning that prevent the hasty adoption 
of ill-judged measures or the subservient consideration of 
novel policies. It is only such conservatism as was constantly 
exhibited by Senator Pi.ATT and others who live on the same 
high i)lane that will safely pilot the ship of state through the 
shallows and among the rocks which lie in its course in the.se 
times of mental stress and change. And until we have 
.safely pa.s.sed these dangers. I do not think that any member 
of this body — certainly not one of the older members who 
worked long with Senator Pi.ATT^will cea.se to feel the great 
loss of his guiding judgment and advice. And it was those 
very qualities which he so admired in others, and which he 
posses.sed in such marked degree, that made him one of the 
strong men of the nation — one on whom the people could 
rely to sink himself in his work fo.- them, for they knew 
that he was in very truth a man sturdy and faithful and 

true. 

I would ask no higher tribute to be written as my epi- 
taph—if it could be truthfully said of me, as it can of him 
who.se memory we to-day honor — than "In whatever position 
he was placed, he always endeavored to honestly do his 
duty." 



AtMrrss oj Mr. Xtlsnii, o/ Miinu-sotn 67 



Address of Mr. Nelson, of Minnesota. 

Mr. Nelsox. Mr. President, a year at;o to-day Senator 
Pi.ATT, one of the veterans of this liod>-, closed his earthlv 
career and entered the reahns of eternity, to join tlie ranks of 
that ever-increasing phalanx of innnortals. 

He was when he jiassed away not (jn!\' a veteran in years 
and in public service, but he was also a veteran in all the 
highest and best (pialities of a statesman and legislator. Few, 
if any, excelled him as such. 

He came of good English ancestors, who settled in his native 
State during the first half of the seventeenth century. Gifted 
with more than ordinary- intellectual abilities, he had the ad- 
vantages of the training in one of the best of the famous New 
England academies of the first half of the nineteenth century. 
This training he supplemented with a thonnigh preparation for 
the profession of a lawyer. He was an able, conscientious, 
thorough, and successful law>er. 

He entered the public sen.-ice of his State in an administrative 
capacity at an early age. He served in both branches of the 
State legislature, and .served one term as speaker of the lower 
house. 

In March, 1S79, he first took his seat in the United States 
Senate, and he was four times reelected. His last term would 
have expired March 3, 1^09. He was a member of this body 
for upward of twenty-six >'ears, and during that time he 
served eighteen years on the Connnittec on I'atents, eight of 
these years as chairman. He was regarded b\' all as the best 
authorit}- on patent law in the Senate. 



68 Lift- and Character of Orrillr H. Platf 

For sixteen >ears lie was a member of the Committee on 
Imliaii Affairs, where he rendered most valuable and efficient 
Service. Xo one was better versed than he in all the intrica- 
cies of Indian legislation, and no one was more alive than he 
to the true welfare of the Indians — always on guard to j)r()tect 
and defend them against open and insidious inroads on their 
rights and interests, but never a block or impediment to the 
opening and settlement of our vast public domain. His heart 
Went out to the frontiersman, as well as to the Indians. He 
had none of those hazy and transcendent notions of so-called 
"Indian rights" or "Indian character" pos-sessed by a school 
of clo.set reformers. He gauged the Indian at his true worth 
and at his real aptitude and ability, and hence he was the most 
practical and useful friend the Iiuliaii had. 

For twelve years he was a member of the Committee on 
Territories, .six years as chairiiian, and while such chairman 
six States were admitted into the rnion, to wit: North 
Dakota, South Dakota. Montana. W'asliingtoii, Idaho, and 
Wyoming; all prosperous, growing, and progressive States. 

For ten years, and up to the time of his death, he was a 
member of the Committee on Finance, and as such was an 
active and resolute participant in the enactment of the Dingley 
tariff law. 

For four years he was chairman of the Committee on Cuban 
Relations, and was partly the author, and the father of the 
noted Piatt amendment — that great bulwark and mainstay of 
the Cuban Rejiublic against foes, foreign and domestic. 

He was for twelve years a leading member of the Judiciary 
Committee, and at the time of his death was the chairman of 
the committee. On this great committee, on account of his 
skill and learning as a lawyer and on account of liis indus- 
trious, prudent, and conservative character, he was one of the 



Address of Mr. .Vidso//, of Miiiiusola 69 

most active, useful, an<l safe iHeml)ei"s, fa\-oral)k- tn all reason- 
able innovations, l)Ut sternly set against \'isionary, re\olutionar\-, 
or doubtful schemes and measures. 

The last .^reat service he rendered in thi> Chamber was in 
presiding over the Senate as a court of impeachment in the 
case of Judge vSwayne. The care, (Hgnit\-, and impartiality 
with which he performed this great task is fresh in our mem- 
ories and familiar to us all. 

But all this is lint a scant outline of the man, his charac- 
ter, his worth, and his work. For more than a quarter of a 
century the Senate was the great field and forum of his task 
and work. Here he wrought incessantly, thoroughly, and 
most effecti\"el\'. He did n<jt shine with the meteoric splen- 
dor of the ardent and finished orator. He never heralded 
his speeches, nor posed for effect, nor kept his eyes strained 
on the galleries. But in the hard, laborious, and oftentimes 
thankless work of scanning and formulating legislation, and 
in expoiuiding the merits and defects of measures, he exhilj- 
ited a thoroughness and skill truly rare, and second to none. 
He had the full confidence of every member of this Ijody, 
and his opinion and judgment of measures was ahvaws re- 
garded as a safe guide and well-nigh infallible. He was a 
fairlv good debater, and could .give and take blows, though 
there was nothing pugnacious in his makeup and nature. 
He never talked for mere effect, but rather as a dut\ which 
he owed to his subject, to himself, and to his as.sociates, and 
hence his remarks were always instructive, alwa\-s c(.>nfined 
to the real point at issue, and always listened to and heeded. 
While he was always zealous to promote and press good 
measures, he was equally zealous and firm as a rock in check- 
ing and barring any scheme or measure which he deemed 
bad, or detrimental to the welfare or best interests of our 
countrv. 



■JO Life niiii Clinrnclcr of Orzillr 11. Pliilt 

He was jiaticiil. thorough, and painstakiiij; at all times and 
under all circumstances, and ever kept a vi):;ilant eye on the 
whole field of lej^islation. Most of us are content and feel 
that we ])erform our duties fairly well if we familiarize our- 
selves with and keep track of the work of the conuniitees 
of whicli we are members, hut lie, even though he excelled 
us in this, was not content with such a limited sphere of 
work. Like the late Senator from Missouri [Mr. Cockrell] 
he had his eye upon and scrupulf)u.sly took the measure of 
every important bill ujxjn the Calendar, so that when it was 
taken up for consideration he was ])re])ared to intelligently 
discuss it and point out its merits and defects, and if the 
bill was a meritorious one it found in him a most valual>le 
ally and sup]K)rter. but if in liis opinion the bill was unwise 
or meretricious he ne\er hesitated to attack it and point out 
with inflexible ])ersistence and clearness its defects. And 
this he did, not throu<i;h a spirit of personal hostility to the 
father of the measure, but through a strong sense of duty 
which he conscientiously felt he could not shirk. And it 
was this attribute anil characteristic of his that made him 
.such a useful and influential member of this body. He was 
trusted and relied upon in every great legislative emergency, 
for his wisdom and conservatism were so pronounced and so 
familiar to all. He was the fairest legi.slator I have ever 
met. modest and without any personal pride. It sometimes 
happened, though less often than with other men, that he, 
in the first instance, might misjudge or misapprehend the 
merits of a measure, but if he did. he was ever ready to be 
corrected, and when convinced of his mistake he was not 
merely content to acknowledge the mistake, but he became 
zealous to make full amends, and this was a trait that 
endeared him to so many of his associates, especially to new 



Addriss of I\rr. Nrhoii, of Miinu'sota 71 

anil stnijLisl'";-^ UKMiilicis. He was never sni chari^ecl willi 
that Senatorial ilit;nity su chillin>; ami iippressixe to a new 
Hieinlier, Imt aUva\s met sueh a nieniher more than halfway 
anil with a kind and helpfnl spirit. 

We (if the i;reat and throwing States of the West, who 
came here with im end of important and meritorious local 
measures on mir hands to promcite and pass, which you of 
the older States are not burdened with and have hut a scant 
conception of. are hapjiN- indeed to meet with sdine uf our 
older brothers here in the East wdro can appreciate our task 
aiul wdio are willing to help and guide us in our efforts, 
which to older and more experienced vSenators may oftentimes 
seem crude and awkward. Such a brother and helper was 
.Senator Platt. His kindl\-, sympathetic spirit was extended 
to us in full measure in word and in deed. I kncjw how- 
helpful he was to me on many an occasion in m>' earh" days 
in the .Senate. Indeed, his helpfulness abode with me during 
all my association with him in this body. He seemed my 
friend from the very start, and so he always remained, with- 
out cstentation, ever kind and helpful, to the end. He .seemed 
to delight, not in exploiting his own merits, Init rather in 
helping men and measures that were meritorious and needed 
his help and assistance. x\nd this came in part from his mod- 
esty and in part from his earnest and sincere zeal for the 
public service. The merits of the cause rather than his own 
glory .seemed uppermost in his thoughts. He took no pains 
to exploit his own eminence and ability, and hence while here 
in this Chamber and among his associates he justly ranked 
among the very highest and the best, he had not as great a 
reputation and was not as noted in the great w-orld at large 
as man\- men of interior ability and of much less merit. But 
while he ma\- not have figured ni the lime light of the public 



-2 Li/i- ami Character of Orvillc II. Piatt 

I>ress as extensively as some other men in jjuhlic life, and 
while no blowinj; of horns and heating of cymbals accom- 
panied him or heralded his efforts and his work, yet lie 
wroui^ht faithfidl.\-, heroically, and well and was content with 
the consciousness that he had performed his duly and served 
the j)ul)lic weal to the best of his ability, and thus he proved 
a most instructi\e example to tho.se of less mode.sty and to 
tho.se more disjKJsed to ,seek notoriety than substantial results. 

The moral influence of Senator Pl.vtt was even greater 
than his intellectual force and power. He impressed every- 
one who came in contact with him that he was actuated by the 
highest and noblest motives in all his efforts. No one ever 
questioned or doul)ted his honesty, his inle.>;rit\', and the puritv 
of his motives. There was a .serene calmness, coupled with 
clearness and earnestness, in his deliberations and in his 
speeches. He was no legi.slative specialist with only a single 
hobby or a single line of work. He was ecjuipped for and 
devoted to every great line of legislative work in a greater 
mea.sure than most of his colleagues; and above all he gave 
his entire heart and energy to the work in hand. All that 
was his he gave to his couutrx' with a whole heart and without 
.any reservation. He was f.iithful in small things as well as in 
those of greater im])ortance. He left a vacuum in the Senate 
that is hard to fill. His death was not only a great los,s and 
bereavement to his family, to his .State, and to the nation, but 
al.so to his a.ssociates here in this bod\', for no one shed a 
brighter or clearer luster upon the tone, the spirit, and char- 
acter of the Senate. 

He is with us no more, but his life, his work, and his e.xam- 
])le will be a beacon and an inspiration to us in the days to 
come, and thus, "though he be dead, yet he still liveth." 



Af/drcss of Afr. 7u-:'(Tii/oi\ a/' fndiaiia 73 



Address of Mr. Beveridge, of Indiana. 

Mr, liKVKKllxiK. Mr, President, I wish to siieak n<jt .so 
niucli of the exalted eharacter and wonderful intellect of 
this great man as of his fundamental juthlic principles. I 
wish to speak of Okvillk H. Pl.vtt, of Counecticnt, as the 
typical American statesman. Of Connecticut? Xo; of the 
Republic. Xo State is .y:reat enoue;h to claim a man like 
him exclusively as its own. He loved C(.)iniecticut with a 
passion which lesser men could never understand; and \et 
no man so earnestly denied the consequence of a State com- 
pared with the nation as did Orville H. Platt. To him 
the American people was everything; to him the glorv of 
the people of Connecticut was that the_\- are citizens of the 
great Republic. 

For Senator Pl.vtt was a statesman of the nation. He 
believed that a member of this liody is what the Constitu- 
tion calls him — a vSenator of the I'nited States f>'oiii a State, 
and not the Senator if a State, not the envoy of an inde- 
pendent entity, not the anibas.sador of a separate power. 
Moreover, he looked on all American industry and business 
as so interlaced and interdependent that they are one and 
the same. He regarded the present and future welfare of 
the entire American people from ocean to ocean as his per- 
.sonal concern and that of every Senator, And so it was 
that he was the statesman of a people and not the politi- 
cian of a locality. 

And this is the first principle of American statesmanship. 
For if vSenators are merely attorne\s for their State and .sec- 
tion; if the welfare of one Conmionwealth is inconsistent with 



74 /-'/'■ i^"(f Characlir of Onillc If. Piatt 

the welfare of other Cominoiuvealllis; if lefjislation is to be a 
conflict of hostile interests, and policies a composite of war- 
ring industries, our laws will he increasingly weak and incon- 
sistent, and the ultimate di.s,solution of the Republic the 
uece.ssary result of the ceaseless battle of irreconcilable forces. 

15ut if Americans are one people; if the Mis.sissippi flows 
through a common country and our transcontinental trains 
whirl from Boston to Seattle, never once stopping at a foreign 
boundary or pa.ssing under a foreign flag; if the welfare of 
Maine and Oregon, of Georgia and Wisconsin, of Texas and 
Xew York, is a common welfare; if it is imix)ssible that one 
State or .section, one class or industry, can thrive by any policy 
or law not good for the whole land; if the motto of the Re- 
public be true that "United we .stand, divided we fall;" if 
vSenators are statesmen of the Republic as a whole, sent from 
States to hold council for the nation as a unit; if this be the 
true i)hilosophy of our Government and the just conception of 
our duty as Senators, then the Republic will be innnortal — 
made so by the solidarity of the American i)eople. made so by 
every American considering the welfare of all Americans and 
every section the interests of all sections, in which alone is 
found real wisdom for the individual man or section. 

And this was Senator Pl.\TT's ruling principle. That Sen- 
ators, and especially the newer Senators who did not know him. 
may understand the great conception that guided him in all 
his public work, I wish to read an extract from perhaps the 
greatest speech he ever made. In his notable deliverance on 
December 19. 189S, he said: 

'■ Mr. Presidenl, this is a nation. It has been called by various names. 
It has been called a Confederated Republic, a Federal Lnion, the Union of 
States, a League of States, a rope of sand; but during all the time the.se 
names have been applied to it it has been a nation. It was so understood 
by the framers of the Constitution. It was so decided by the great judges 
of the .Supreme Court in the early days of the Constitution. 



.'li/i/rrss <>/ Mr. /'irr/-/</o/\ of /ih/idi/it 75 

" II is tiKi latt to ilfiiv it. .mil, Mr. ^r^■^ill^.■nl. it is iilsn tm. l:itc In a<lniit 
it anil not have faith ill it. Intfllectual assent to tlie doctriins < .1 Chris- 
tianit\- iloe.s not make a iiian a Christian. It is savin.i; faith that makes 
the Christian. And a mere intellectual assent to the doctrine that we are 
a nation does not make the true patriot. It is high time that we come to 
believe without qualification, to believe in our hearts, in the exercise of 
]>atriotic faith, that the I'nited States is a nation. When we come to 
believe that, Mr. President, many of the doubts and uncertainties which 
have troubled men will disajipear." 

By this principle he solved vexed <iiiestions, wrote wise 
statutes, interpreted the fundamental law. He re.sjarded the 
Constitution not as a compact between independent states, 
liut, as Marshall called it, an "nrdinance of national life" 
established l.iy an undivided and indivisible people. To him 
the soverei.gn words of the Constitution are the first three, 
"We, the people." And so, like Marshall, like vStory, like 
Webster, like Jefferson (who. declaring; that we had no express 
ciinstitutioual power to do so, yet made the Louisiana pur- 
cha.se), like Jack.son, like Lincoln, like all American statesmen 
great enough to be yet visible above the receding horizon ( aye, 
and like the American people themselves). Senator Pl.vtt 
believed that the Constitution grows — grows by interpretation, 
grows by the use of implied powers not needed till emergency 
calls them into action, grows by the larger meaning which 
e\'ents and our advancin,g American civilization read into its 
formal phrase, grows as the American people .grow. 

H'^ had no fear of the results of such a constitutional phi- 
losophy. He stood in no terror of the American people. He 
did lujt believe that the strict construction of a formal word, 
written four generations ago, when the Republic contained l)ut 
4,000,000 souls, the nation was onh' in the beginnings of its 
making, the uses of steam and electricity unknown, Pittsburg 
farther from XewYork than Chicago is from the Orient to-day, 
city congestions undreamed of, and the modern methods of 
production and distribution unimagined — he did not think that 



76 Li/c and Character of Orvillf If. Piatt 

rigid sentences written nntler such circumstances a hundred 
and thirty years ago lia\e necessarily the same meaning now as 
then, or that the safety and happineas of the nation's 90,000,000 
of Americans to-day and 200,000,000 of Americans to-morrow 
is to be found in the Constitution's Hfeless word so much as 
in its living spirit giving intelligent meaning to its letter. 

For Senator Platt lx;lieved in the American people. He 
did not believe that they are or ever will be decadent and de- 
generate. He ljelie\ed that the nia,s.ses are growing wiser and 
purer: knew that this nuist be .so unle.ss our whole American 
civilization is a failure. He realized that the nation is con- 
stantly renewing itself, each generation facing with new 
thought the new j)r<)blenis that the very progress of their 
parents brought to thciu. Ik- went upon the theory that our 
children will be abler, stronger, nobler than our.selves; knew 
that if this is not true our schools and our churches, our free 
institutions, and the whole of modern life is a tragic mockery. 

And this is the necessary view point and attitude of .states- 
manshij) under free institutions; we individuals grow old with 
frightful speed; we retain our life's fir.st impression unmindful 
of the profound changes in the world about us; we keep on 
thinking the thoughts of our youth, long since grown ancient 
to our children; we rea.son in the old formulas and speak a 
nomenclature of a day that is gone. But all about us millions 
of young men and j^oung women have grown up amid condi- 
tions unlike those that we were reared among, and they arc 
thinking thoughts and learning facts we never knew and speak- 
ing a tongue we never heard. It is a new nation that sur- 
rounds us; a nation of millions upon millions of fresh and vital 
minds yea.sting with ideas; a nation of millions upon millions 
of new and unexhausted he.urls ftdl of faitl; in Cod and the 
Republic — aye, and full of the daring of that faith. 



The statesman of such a nation must have a miml and heart 
of perennial youth, or he ceases to understand his people, begins 
to (lonlit and then to fear them, and, without knowiui; it, he- 
comes their enem.w And just such a mind and heart was that 
of Senator Pi.att. 

All who knew him intimately were agreed that the amazing 
youthfulness of his mind was h\- far his nuist notable mental 
characteristic. Old as he was. he attacked new proljlems with 
the eager strength of young manhood's mental vitality, solved 
them with young manhood's faith. He never doubted tlie wis- 
dom, righteousness, and power of the American people. He 
believed devoutly, unquestioningh' in their mission and destin\- 
in the world. Who tliat heard will ever forget his instantane- 
ous and unprepared reply to the venerable Senator from Ma.ssa- 
chusetts on our duty in the Philippines and our certain future 
in the Orient and the world? How like a prophet of the olden 
time he seemed that evening, as with eyes glow^ing with reli- 
gious fire and voice ringing trumpet-clear as the voice of youth, 
he delivered with passionate earnestness that inspired .speech. 
Here is the way he closed this extemporaneous address, 
delivered about 6 o'clock in the evening: 

"We art- uiKier the oliligation and direction of a higher powder with refer- 
ence to onr chity in tlic Pliilippine Islands. The T'nited States of America 
has a lH,y;li call to dnty, to a moral dut> , to a dnty to advance the canse of 
free <'overnment in the world by something niore than example. It is not 
enough to .say to a country over which we have acquired an undisputed 
and indisputable sovereignty: 'Go your own gait; look at our example. 
In the entrance of the harbor of New York, our principal port, there is 
the statue of LiVierty Enli,i;htenin<4 the Worlil. Ijiok at that, and f..!li.w 
our example.' 

"No, Mr. President. U'hen the Anglo-Saxon race crossed the Atlantic 
and stood on the shores of Massachusetts Bay and on Plymouth Rock that 
movement meant something more than the establishment of religious and 
civil liberty within a narrow, confined, and limited compass. It had in it 
the force of the Ahnight\-; an.l from that d.iy to this it has been s|)read- 
int;, widening, and exteuduig until, like the stone seen by Daniel in his 



78 Life and Oinnu/rr of Orri//,- //. P/,i/t 

vision cut out of the niouiitaiu without haiuls. it lias filled all our borders, 
and ever westwaril across the Pacific that influence which found its home 
in the Mayjloufr and its development on I'lyinouth Rock has been 
extendinj; ami is extending; its sway and its beneficence. 

" I believe, ]Mr. President, that the time is coniinn, as surely coming as 
the time when the worhi shall be Christianized, when the world shall be 
converted to the cause 6f free government, and I believe the I'nited States 
is a providentially appointed a}{ent for that purpose. The day may be 
long in coming, and it may be in the far future, but he who has stu<lied 
the history of this western world from the 22(1 day of December, i62u, to 
the present hour must be blind indeed if he can not see that the cause of 
free government in the world is still progressing and that what the Tnited 
States is doing in the Philippine Islands is in the extension of that benefi- 
cent purpose." (Congressional Record, February ii, 1903.) 

I read tlii.s. Mr. President, not to show his particular opin- 
ion njion this puhhc ipicslion, but to show the youthfnhies.s, 
the hopefuhie.ss, and the ahnost projihetic nature of his aniaz- 
inji; mind. It was with this yottthful vigor, vision, and un- 
doubtingne.ss that Senator Pi,.\TT solved the Cuban tjucstion. 
There was no precedent. He made one. I understand the 
philo.sophy of the ])rece(lent, the ab.sohUe nece.ssity in a free 
governnient of e.stabli.shed forms and methods. But it re- 
quires no special ability to follow the blazed trail. Ordinary 
intelligence can cite precedents and apply decided ca.ses to 
like situations. It needs greatness to create by sheer thought 
solutions of unheard-of problems. Antl that is what Senator 
Pl.VTT did in the immortal Piatt atnendment, which, written 
in our statutes and incorporated in the Cuban constitution, 
established over that island the indestructible suzeraintx- of 
the Republic — all for the good and safety of the Cuban and 
the American people alike. 

To those who a.sked where in the Conslitnlion such power is 
given Congress, he answered V)y the cotmter (juestion, "Where 
is such power doiied?" I-'or he believed that the United 
States may do all that an\' other nation can do, luile.ss the 



Address of Mr. /'i:'rridoi-, of' //ii/niiiii 79 

Conslitutioii fdiliids it. Here is what he said in a >j;reat de- 
late in thi> Clianiher: 

"I maintain that the United States /,s a nation; that as a nation it 
possesses every sovereifin power not reser\eil to the States or the ]ieople; 
that the right to acquire territory was not reserved and is tlu-refore an 
inherent Mvereifi:n riglit ; * * * that in certain instances llie right 
may lie inferred from specific clauses in the Constitution, but tliut it 
exists indepeniieiil 0/ t/iese etaiises; that as the right to acquire is a so:'- 
ereign and inhernit 1 ii^tit. the right to govern is it sovereign riglit not 
limited in tlie Co)istitution ." 

Whether all Senators agreed to these views or not, when it 
came to adopting the Piatt amendment, so dee])ly wise, so im- 
minently necessary, was that historic creation that althotigh 
constitntional douhts filled the air and a single speech would 
have defeated it, since Congress was expiring e\-en as it passed, 
yet not one voice was openly raised against it. And thus 
entered into the law and life of two peoples, and into their 
intertwined histor\-, the fifth eternal writing produced by 
American statesmanshiji — the first four being the Declaration 
of Independence, the Constitution of the United States, the 
Ordinance of 17.S7, the Emancipation Proclamation, and, last, 
this indissoluble boiul uniting forever the destinies of Cuba and 
the American Republic. 

An American statesman should be as brave and unquali- 
fiedly frank as he is incorruptible. P'rankness — even aggres- 
sive openness — is necessar}- in the public men of a free 
people. Not only the penjile at large, Init the vast business 
and financial interests, need to know at the earliest possible 
moment the ojiinions and purposes of statesmen. He who 
conceals his views is dangerous; he who has none is unwor- 
tliy. vSenat(jr Pl.vtt was to his people and to all men a 
speaking voice, an open liciok. On gra\-est industrial ques- 
tions, which make the mere j)olitician who nias(juerades as 



8o Life aud Character of Orvillc II. Plait 

a statesman tremble and pale with fear, Okvillk H. Platt 
told where he .st(jod and then stood there fighting with the 
courage of his wisdom. 

For example, the farmers of Connecticut petitioned him to 
support a certain bill; he refused, because he thought that 
measure not good for the Republic. The laboring men of Con- 
necticut asked for measures he thought unwise for the Nation; 
he told ilKin so and then acted on his thought. Moneyed 
interests in Coiniecticut demanded certain action; he declined 
because he thought it hurtful from the view point of all the 
people. All of the people and not some of the people, the ichole 
country and not a section — this was the universal mea.surement 
of his vision. Everybody knew where Okville H. Platt 
stood on everything. All great statesmen are like that. They 
remind you of the mountains — landmarks for the centuries. 
"What will Nou have your representative be." said Kdmund 
Burke in his speech to the electors of Bri.stol, in which all the 
elements of .statesmanship are said to be defined — " what will 
)-ou have your repre.sentative be, a pillar supjiorting the temple 
of state or a weathercock upon its dome? " 

The American statesman must be religious, becau.se the Amer- 
ican people are the most profoundly and intelligently religious 
people of the world. Senator Pl.vtt was intensely religious. 
He was a man of daily pra\er. The li\ing God was to him a 
personal realit\-, and to him ser\ice of fellow-man was wi.se 
only as it was .service of the P'ather. He wrote a nation's laws 
in the fear of the Lord. He believed absolutely in Providence; 
believed that the American people are directed by divine wis- 
dom. How splendid .such a conception of national de.stin\! 
Tile Kuler of the tnii\-ersL- brought a new force into ]ihn- in the 
evolution of the human race when he established on this new 



Address (dMr. Bci'vridi^r, of Iiiiii(Uia Ri 

Cdiitiiiciit the American people, and of tliat peupk- ( )k\-iij.i.: II, 
Pi..\TT was a saL;e and ]ir(ii)liet. 

He is gone, this niiglit)- one. Not nianx' now renieniliei him 
or his priceless services to the State. ( )nl\- one \-ast achiexe- 
ment — the Piatt amendment — will jierpetnate his name. Snch 
is olili\'ion's remorseless wisdom. There are so many swarm- 
ing millions of luiman beings, such numberless events in the 
lives of each, such flowing oceans of circumstance, that the 
world can not, for long, remember any one. Time is a jinmipt 
stage manager — he thrusts us on and calls us from this human 
stage on the hour, and not one instant in our entrance or exit 
may \i'e tarry. ;\Ien plan and speak and do — and think that 
to-morrow other men will heed or remember: but the other day 
an unknown and uidieard of cit>' was unearthed by accident, 
which had a splendid history of great men and glorious deeds, 
of wise laws and polite culture fu'e thousand years bef(3re 
Christ. 

vSo all that a man docs must be with ilitTerent motives than 
to-day's applan.se or to-morrow's remembrance: vour deed 
for the deed's sake — for the good it may do although utterly 
unnoted like a single furrow among its million fellows. This 
is the only conception of duty that makes man's best efforts 
worth the while. And this was the conception that inspired 
Senator Pl.vtt through all his years. It was nothing to him 
that men should remember or observe what he said or did; it 
was everything to him that his word and deed accomplished 
.something for his country. And .so he was fearless and pure 
and wise and brave; his life without stain, his cour.se without 
variableness or shadow of turning. It was this conception of 
duty, vitalizing and consecrating his great intellect, that made 
him the ideal statesman of the American people. 
vS.Doc. 534,59-1 6 



82 Life and Character of Orvillc //. I'latt 



Address of Mr. Kean, of New Jersey. 

Mr. Kkan. Mr. Prcsidt-iit, I can not let this occasion pass 
without sayinj; a few words. 

The .Services that Senator Pi..\TT rendered to his vState and 
country have Vieen so well recoinited hv those who have pre- 
ceded nie that I shall not do more than say a few words as 
to the great loss .sustained by this body and the country at 
large. Words can add nothing to the fame or virtues of the 
dead. His actions alone are the highest jiraise — all other 
eulogies fail. 

It is true when lie came here twenty-six years ago he was 
unknown to the nation, but when he died no Senator was 
better known. Attention to duty made him thoroughly familiar 
with all legislation. He gave great thought and care to all 
the interests of the country. He had studied closely the his- 
tory of legislation, and, possessing great legal attainments, 
was alwa\s alert to achieve the best to be acconii)lished. 

In his death we have lost a friend and companion always 
ready to aid and assist those younger in years than himself, 
and I can not fail to express my high appreciation and deep 
re.gard for the kindness shown me as a new member of this 
bodx and the great jiersonal loss I feel at his death. 

He died at home, as every wise man should wi.sh to, in 
the midst of tho.se who loved him, and is buried among the 
hills of the Slate that knew and honored him and which he 
loved. 



.liMrrss o/' Mr. Kriui, c/ AVri' Jersiv S3 

I know no words more fitlini; to describe Senator I'i.att 
than tliose of Robert lirownini; : 

"One will) never Uinieil his back, l)ut niarelieil breast forward; 

Never douljteil clouds would break, 

Never dreamed, though right were worsteil, wmiiu; wniild tnuniiih; 

Held we fall to rise, are baffled to fight 1 letter. 

Sleep to wake." 



84 Life and Charactir of Orvillc 11. Plait 



Address of Mr. Brandegee, of CorwEaicuT. 

Mr. I5kani)K<.i:i:. Mr. President, the traditions of the Sen- 
ate direct that I should pronounce the final words in these sad 
ceremonies. 1 realize that it is impossible to add anything to 
what has already been so eloquently and sweetly said by the 
score of sjseakers who have preceded nie. And yet, though 
appreciating fully the difficulties of the situation, 1 should l>e 
remiss in my duty to my State, to myself, and, most of all, to 
him, should I omit to say those things which lie in my heart. 

Mr. President, no man has ever solved the riddle of existence. 
No man ever will solve it. Whoever shall will have ceased to 
be mortal and will have become superhuman. From that time 
in the mists of antiquity, when mankind assumed the upright 
attitude and looked the heavens in the face, we have wondered 
from whence we came and whither we go. Philo.sophers have 
disputed, theologians have contended, physici.sts, archeologists, 
p.sychologists, astronomers, prophets, mathematicians, poets, 
orators, statesmen, physicians, and magicians have theorized, 
written, argued, yearned, imagined, and prayed, and, in so far 
as human knowledge and hum.m investigation are concerned, 
we end where we began. We talk glibly of the categories of 
time, .space, and eternity, but no man can conceive of them. 
We pronounce the word "Infinity," and when we attempt to 
define it the intellect sprawls helple.s.sly ! The my.stery of 
existence, of chaos, of the primordial, and of the finality was 
the mystery of the past, is the mystery of to-day, and will con- 
tinue the m\ster>- of the future. It is inunutable, inexorable, 
unfathomable! Mr. President, the two momentous words of 



Ai'/drrss of Mr. I^ra i/(it-i;i-(\ of Cinnncticut S5 

Iniinan spL-ecli are " Wht-ncc" and " WhilliL-r. " TIk- hiain will 
never answer these (jnestions. The liutnan heart maw W'e 
know very little. We feel very much. Iltiw \ery little we 
know! We distinguish life from death, but are in gross igno- 
rance of the cause, the origin, or the termination of both. 

Among mysteries one ine.xplicalile thing is no more remark- 
able than another. One may affect our emotions more than 
another, but fundamentally all are equally incomprehensible. 
Why should a .seed sprout? Wh\- should like produce like? 
Wli>- should nature be tmiform antl constant? Why should 
matter attract matter according to the law of gra\-itation? 
Why shotild opposite electric poles attract each other? What 
is electricity? Why do certain forms of matter crystalli/.e in 
certain shapes? What is chemical affinity? Why does the 
human race exist, and what is its purpose and eniK-' Why 
the universe? No one of these iiuiuiries is more or less 
difhcult than the other. All nature is an impenetrable mys- 
ter\'. Science may collate statistics, may observe and tabulate 
phenomena, but it will never render a satisfactory respon.se. 
But from the dawn of history we know that the heart has 
answered that which the brain might not know. The heart 
has faith to believe that, knowledge or no knowledge, if a 
man be true to his own conscience he mav stand before his 
Maker justified and without fear. .\nd to-day we speak of 
such a man. How great he was! His character, like his 
statue, should be delineated in heroic lines. Like Abraham 
of old, Orville Hitchcock Pl.\tt stands out from the mul- 
titude. He was a leader. He did not lead because he tried 
to lead, but because the people followed him. He did not 
lead because he pretended to lie the special friend of the 
people, as demagogues are wont to do, but because he laid 
his course by his own compass and that compass always 



86 Life and Character of Orzille If. Piatt 

pointed to the true pole. In tlie lonj; run tlie people can 
ahva\s he relied npou to distin^nish between a demagogue 
and a patriot, and they always did so in the case of Mr. 
Platt. Five consecutive times the |)eople of Connecticut 
accredited him as their ambassador to this great conclave of 
the representatives of the sovereign States of this Republic. 
For twenty-six years he sat in this Chamber and fearlessly, 
faithfully, and nobly discharged that trust. If that may truth- 
fully be said of any man, it is. in my opinion, the highest 
encomium that can be pronottuced iijion him. There is not, 
engraved upon bronze nor carved in marl)le. in the Valley 
of the Nile or of the Tigris or of the Euphrates or of the 
Ganges, nor in the Pantheons of Rome, Carthage, or Greece, 
an epitaph of achievement fraught with greater bles.sing to 
humanity than a ([uarter of a century of able, courageous, and 
conscientious work in this great parliamentary body. 

Senator Pl.\tt consecrated one-third of his entire life to this 
loftv ministry! Mr. President, how easy it is to .say that, and 
yet how utterly hollow and unsatisfactory it is and how 
meager and shallow it sounds! What a fullness and com- 
pleteness there was to that great and lengthy service! With 
what a multitude of events and cares and duties it was 
crowded! With what perplexities, with how great anxieties, 
with how innumerable responsibilities, always splendidly met, 
it was filled! 

It is beyond the power of speech, or pen, or art to epito- 
mize such a career in the compa.ss of a few strokes of the 
pen or in the brief period of time devoted to this occasion. 
We all feel the inadequacy of mere words to express what 
we to-day feel and what but yesterday he was. .\nd yet we 
fain would strive to record somewhat of the love which we 
his friends and associates bore for him and something of the 



.liMrrss of .]fr. /-trdinh'^tu^ of Cojtiicclii id 87 

resjiL-et and veneratii)n in whicli the wliok- couiitiN lul<l him. 
Mr. l'i..\TT entered this body in iSyy at the age of 5.' years, 
lie had previonsly heen honored li\' the confidence and esteem 
of the people of his State. He had lieeii the chairman of 
the State central coniniittee of his party, the .speaker of the 
Connecticut house of representati\'es, a State senator, the 
secretary of the State, and the State's attorney of New Haven 
County. He was a well-known and able lawyer, and had 
devoted himself more particularh' to the law of patents, in 
which he had attained a high proficiency. He therefore en- 
tered upon his duties here, in middle life, equipjied with a 
ripe experience in the law, in politics, in bu.siiiess, and in 
public affairs. He devoted this fund of knowdedge to prac- 
tical use in his legislative work. He was no theorist. He 
was not a doctrinaire. He had none of the traits of the 
visionary or the mystic. He dreamed no dreams and he pur- 
sued no chimeras. He insisted upon the facts. He was 
virile and powerful, mentally and physically. His appear- 
ance was most impressive. He was cast in the patriarchal 
mold. He towered to a height of 6 feet and 4 inches, and 
his frame and head were as massive and rugged as the 
granite ledges and crags of his native Litchfield County. 

His features were large and somewhat furrowed, and to 
those who saw him for the first time his countenance was 
apt to convey a suggestion of austerity. But this effect 
was relieved by the saving grace of a delicious sense of 
humor and an inimitable twinkle of the eye. His matmer 
was delilierate, and he was well balanced and at all times 
perfectly self-contn.illed. He was patient, industrious, kindly, 
cautious, and sound. He was preeminently .safe and sane. 
His judgment was excellent and his gift of common sen.se 
approached to genius. His temperament was judicial, and 



88 IJfi- and Character of Orvillc II. Platl 

he clcarlx- perceived and carefully weighed every phase of a 
question. With his clear \ision he penetrated the heart of 
every problem and discriminated with unerring precision 
between the vital principles upon which a correct solution 
depended and the irrelevant and delusive matters which con- 
fuse other minds. He was possessed of an intuitive .sense as 
to the wisest cour.se to pursue, which was .so accurate as to 
amount almost to prescience. He despised shams, hyp)oc- 
risy, and pretense. He was straightforward, sincere, and 
reliable. He was a man of sterling integrity, and was as 
honest with himself as with his fellows. It was as impos- 
sible to deceive him as it was for him to attempt to deceive 
others. He was inspired with high ideals and was endowed 
with a deep religious nature. His logical mind moved with 
the mathematical accuracy of an adding machine, and the 
most complicated questions were reduced and clarified in the 
fervent crucible of his intellectual analy.sis. He was inten.sely 
human and was always glad to cloak the faults of others 
with the broad mantle of charity. He was passionately fond 
of nature. The .sound of the brooks tumbling down their 
rocky beds, the rustle of the leaves in the woods, the .songs 
of birds, the voices of the wild things, the variegated tints 
of the foliage, the otlors of flower and fern and moist glade, 
the sunshine and shadow, the dying monarch of the forest 
and the springing bud, the sunset skies, the majesty of the 
snow-capped mountain, the abyss of the dark canyon, the 
rolling prairie, the river sweeping away into the distance, 
the vast and heaving ocean — all the.se sjwke to him in a lan- 
guage of nuisic and poetry to which every fiber of his soul 
was attuned and to which it responded with joy and gratitude. 
Amcjng all the honors, the battles, and the triumphs of his 
life, continued far bevond the three score vears and ten allotted 



.li/i/ri's.s of Mr. Ih-anth-v;ci\ of CtiiinrituKl 89 

1)\- the Psalmist, the liniuc cif his IkinIidoiI and tlic wild sceiK-ry 
and stalwart jK-oplc of his natixx- Litchfield Cmuit\- la\- closest 
to his heart. In the free, ojien air of this beautiful section, as 
he \vhiii])ed the brooks and hunted its game, he develojied that 
ma<;niiicent character which never knew a stain and that splen- 
did courage which never surrendered a principle. Here he 
imbibed that wholesome nature, that childlike faith, that moral 
standard and stamina, that indomitable will, that fine percep- 
tion, that shrewd insight, that independence and love of f)er- 
sonal liberty, which made him a tower of strength and a very 
present helji in time of trouble. 

Mr. President, in the death of vSenator Platt Connecticut 
/^ lost her ablest and most distinguished public servant, this body 

one of its wisest and most trusted counselors, and the nation 
one of its soundest statesmen. He alwa>-s dared to act as he 
believed. He never compromised with expediency. He was a 
great man — in stature, in brain, in character, in influence, in 
deeds, and in righteousness. Upon his first election to the 
Senate, now twenty-seven years ago, at a reception gi\-en him 
1)y his friends and neighljors in the city of Meriden, he spoke a 
few simple words which can not fail t<i touch us deeply now, 
and which formed the mainspring of his public and private life. 
He said: 

" I thank roil, my friends, for this kind reception. This is neither the 
time nor the place to make a speech, and yet I think I would be lacking 
in the common feeling of humanity if I did not express to you in some 
wav the gratitude I feel for the respect you have ever shown me. It 
touches me, coming as it does from you who have known me longest and 
best -the men I have lived with these twenty-eii;ht years. I have lived a 
somewhat transparent life. Vou know what I have done and what I have 
failed to do. It is this that makes this demonstration the more acceptable 
and touching to me. I think no man could have lived in a place so long 
and have been more sensible of the kindly feeling entertained toward 
him than I. I want to thank all my friends, but especially my iSIeriden 
friends. They were not politicians, l)ut were full of love and devotion 



go Life and Character of Or-.'ille 11. Piatt 

anJ labored for my welfari- willunil hopi' of reward, and such kindly fcel- 
inj; and disposition touches me to the heart. Their faith makes me rejoice 
more at their jjratification than my success. Just now everythinj; is new 
and seems unreal. I can .scarcely appreciate the future. How I shall 
bear my.self, how I shall walk in the new path in which I am set, time 
will show, I do know that I shall try to do ri)j;ht as I see the ri);ht, and 
I have faith to believe that this will brinj; me through to the end without 
discredit to you, to my.self, or to the Stale. My friends, this is no place 
for an announcement of my ]x)litical views. I have in the course of inv 
life dealt and received many hard political blows, but I have alwavs tried 
to act right and .shall so continue. I thank you again for your kindness, 
and I trust that all your expectations with reference to me will not be 
disappointed. Good night." 

How clearly and beautifully hi.s character shines through 
the.se sini])le and informal remarks to the friends and neighbors 
will) had slathered to do him honor, and how abtnidantly and 
splendidly he justified the confidence which had been reiX)sed 
in him ' 

Mr. l'i..VTT was a progressixe and constructive lejjislator. 
He made no pretense to oratory, and yet his clear thoujjht 
was couched in ter.se Saxon jihrase and delivered with an 
earnest force which was closelx- akin to eloquence and carried 
greater conviction. Whatever attitude he assmned upon a 
public question was the result of his honest, deliberate judg- 
ment, and this was e\inced in e\er\- tone, jesture, and look. 
He IkuI an abiding faith in the institutions, the ])eople, and 
the destiny of this comitry, and, in turn, he was loved and 
tru.sted by the f>eople whose confidence he always retained. 
He cared nothing for wealth, but everything for men. He 
was liberal, tolerant, charitable, .sympathetic, and of infinite 
patience and unflagging zeal. His influence tipon men and 
measures was always helpful and salutary. The loss of such 
a man is indeed a public calamity. But his character and the 
lesson of his career are innnortal and in\aluable. We rexere 
the memor>- of such men, not only for what the\- did but for 



Address of Mr. />rii'/dri;r<\ /'/ CainiCi lit id 91 

what they were. We need nut wait tur po.sterity to look haek- 
wanl throui^h tile vista of time for a jnst aI)prai^al of that 
character or that life work. He was lonj; ago crowned with 
the affection of his colleaj^ues and the admiration and Kr:^ti- 
tnde of his constituents. Less than two _\'ears before his 
death the peojile of his State, irres])ective of party or sex, 
gathered at our beautiful capitol buildinv; iu the fair city of 
Hartford and rivaled eacli other iu testifxing their affection 
for him at a great reception g"i\-en in his honor. To-day we 
have heard triljutes of respect and the loving words which 
have fieen spoken by his friends and associates in this great 
body, llncon.sciously we are carried back at this time to the 
scene in that same capitol at Hartford just one month before 
the death of Senator Pl,.VTT, when he stood by the bier of his 
beloved colleague of a quarter of a century. Senator Joseph 
R. Hawley. Senator Pi^att said: 

" Is lie (lead? No. Hy our ino.st earnest hope.s, by all of our devoutest 
failli, nil. He has but begun to live. In those subterranean cemeteries 
under the ancient city of Rome — in the catacombs — there are thousands 
and hundreds of thousands of inscriptions on the slabs which close the 
resting places of those early martyrs, the faithful ones, or scratched rudely 
in the plaster above them; but of all those inscriptions which tell of the 
triumph of faith, of the beyond, one has always seemed to me most sit;- 
nificant. It is this — these simple words — 'He entered into life.' That 
is what General Hawley has done. We are not here so much to mourn 
his death as, it seems to me, to celebrate his birth into a new and a I letter 
life; into a field of greater, larger, and more spiritual activities. It is a 
birthday, not a death day, after all, which Iirings us together, which knits 
all hearts in love and sympathy. Henry Ward Beecher so often spoke of 
death as a coronation. It is. He is crowned now, this friend and mui- 
rade of ours — crowned, in the wonderful lanvcuaxe of inspiration, by the 
Almighty "with glory and iiinuortality.' Why, llien, shmild we weep? 
So we will not think of him as dead, but living, and ue will thuik of him 
as we think of friends whom we sometimes go down to see as they sail 
away in ships for foreign lands, never expecting to see them with nur 
eyes again, but knowing that they are still in life and in other tiel<ls ex. 
ertin,t; the activities of life. We will say farewell to-day as we comm!; 



92 Lift' ti)id Character of Orz'i/lc //. Piatt 

him to tlic- uartli — no; not farewell, l)Ul that better \vor<l, 'jjood-by' — 
Go<l he with you — j;(Kj<i-by. We will whisix-r that word 'good-bv,' for 
the heart feels most, and the lips move not, and the eye speaks the gentle 
'good-by.' " 

Within a span he, too, had embarked, and we think of him 
as he thought of Hawley. He liad spun Hfe's web to the 
fiuisli; the fabric was complete. 

" Let us take to ourselves a lesson. 

No lesson can braver be. 
Of the ways of the tapestry weavers. 

On the other side of the sea. 

.\bove their head the pattern hangs, 

They study it with care, 
The while their fingers deftly weave, 

Their eyes are fa.stened there. 

They tell this curious thing l>esides. 

Of the patient, plodding weaver. 
He works on the wrong side evennore, 

But works for the right side ever. 

It is only when his work is done. 

And the web is loosed and turned, 
That he sees the real handiwork 

His marvelous skill has learned. 

.\h, the sight of its delicate beauty! 

How it pays him for all its cost! 
No rarer, daintier work than his 

Was ever done by the frost. 

The years of man are nature's looms, 

Let down from the place of the sun, 
Wherein we are weaving alway. 

Till the mystic web is done. 

Sometimes blindly — but weaving surely, 

Kacli for himself his fate; 
We may not see how the right side looks; 

We must often weave — and wait." 

Mr. President, in the ripeness of a vast experience and in 
the fuUness of earthly honors, with every duty performed and 
every obligation redeemed, he has entered into the joys of the 



. li/i/rt'ss of Mr. Ih iiiiih\oc,\ <>/ Cmiuri lii ul 93 

blessed. His ser\-iccs in tliis Senate will be treasureil ainonj^ 
its ])iiin(lest nieiniiries, and bis fame and bis eareer will al\va\s 
remain as a sacred legacy and an inspiring; example to the 
people of his State. As we are in and of a world of m\s- 
teries, who knows but that to-day, not afar olT, bnt \'ery near 
anil in this \'er\- jnesence, the nii.t;bl> who ha\-e heretofore sat 
within these walls are silent spectators of these solemn pro- 
ceedings, having pnt on iminortalit\ in the effulgence and .glory 
of the choir invisible? 

Mr. President, I ask for the adoption of the resolutions. 

The Vice-Pkksidkxt. The question is on agreeing to the 
resolutions submitted \)\ the senior Senator from Connecticut. 

The resolutions were unanimously agreed to. 

Mr. BuLKELEY. Mr. President, as a further mark of respect 
to the memory of our former colleague, I move that the Sen- 
ate adjourn. 

The motion was unanimously agreed to; and (at 4 o'clock 
p. m. I the Senate adjourned luitil Monday, April J3, 1906, at 
12 o'clock meridian. 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE 

I )kci';mi!p:k 4, 1905. 

imrssactK from the skxatk. 

A message from tliL- Senate, by Mr. I'arkinson, its readiiisj; 
clerk, announced thai the Senate lias ]>assed the followini; 
resolution; 

Rrsolz't'd, That tliu StnatL', with deep regret, has listened to the an- 
nouncement of the death of the Hon. Orvii.le Hitchcock Pl.\tt, for 
more than a quarter of a century a member of this body, a period marked 
by five consecutive elections, as a Senator from the State of Connecticut. 

Resolved, That the Secretary communicate a copy of these resolutions 
to the House of Representatives. 

Resoll'ed, That as a further mark of respect to the memory of the 
deceased the Senate do now adjourn. 

DK.VTH Ol' SENATOR PL.\TT, OF CONNECTICUT. 

Mr. LiLi.EV, of Connecticut. Mr. Sjieaker, I offer the follow- 
ing resolution, which I >end to the Clerk's desk: 
The Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow of the death 
of Hon. Orvii,i.E Hitchcock Pi..\TT, a Senator of the United States, of 
the State of Connecticut. 

Resolved. That the Clerk connnunicate these resolutions to tlie Senate 
and transmit a copy therecjf to the family of the deceased Senator. 

The resolution was agreed to. 

.\DJOt'RNlIKNT. 

Mr. McKiNNEV. Mr. Sjieaker, as a further mark of the re- 
spect which we hold of the memory of the deceased Senator, 
Okville Hitchcock Platt, I move that the House do now 
adjourn. 



96 ProciTdiiiiis ill the House 

The motion was ajirccd to; accorcliiigly (at 3 o'clock and 
37 minutes) the House adjourned until 12 o'clock niK)n to- 
morrow. 

Makcii 5. lyo^. 

MKMOKIAI. SERVICES FOR THE I. ATE SENATOR I'l.ATT. 

Mr. Sperkv. Mr. Speaker, I offer the following order, and 
ask for its adoption. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

Oiilinii, That ,S.itiinlay, .-\pril 14, at i o'clock, be .set apart for addresses 
on the life, character, anil public services of Hon. Orville II. I'latt, late a 
Senator from tlie Stale of Connecticut. 

The order was adopted. 

Mr. P.VYNE. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now 
adjourn. 

The motion was agreed to. 

Accordinglj- (at 4 o'clock and 35 minutes p. m. ) the House 
adjourned until to-morrow, at 12 o'clock noon. 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 

Saturday, .lf>> il j_f, ujoh 

The House met at \2 o'clock in. 

The following prayer was offered liy the Chaplain, Rev. 
Hknky N. Coudkn, D. D. 

We lift np our hearts in gratitude tt) Thee, O God, our 
heavenly Father, for that innumerable host of pure, brave, 
noble, high-minded men who, susceptible to the heavenly 
influences, have made themselves felt in the affairs (jf men to 
the honor and glory of Thy holy name, and for that profound 
regard which obtains for those who have wrought well and left 
behind them a character worthy of enudation. That this 
House will to-da\- memorialize such a man; one who served 
his .State and natinn with integrit>' and honor, and for a quarter 
of a century held a conspicuous place in the Senate of the 
United States, a leader among leaders, faithful, honest, just, 
pure in thought and speech. May his memor\' be an inspira- 
tion to those who surx'ive him and a living example for the 
generations to come; and Thine be the praise, through Jesus 
Christ, our Lord. Amen. 

OKDKK (.)F Bl'SINKSS. 

The Speaker. The Chair would call the attention of 
Members to the fact that at i o'clock under a special order 
to-day memorial services in memory of the late Senator Pi.att 
will be held in the House. Since the order was made it has 
been foiuid out that the probabilities are the House may 
S. Doc. 534, 59-' 7 97 



gS Life ami C/mnuhr of Orvillc If. I'lntl 

adjourn at about J. 15 o'clock to witness the laying of the 
corner stone in the ofSce building. It has been suggested to 
nie by some members of the Connecticut delegation that tl e 
memorial services be expedited by fifteen minutes, and that 
they start at fifteen minutes to i instead of at i o'clock to 
enable the finishing of the order b\- that time. Is there ob- 
jection to that rearrangement? [After a i)ause.] The Chair 
hears none, and it is so ordered. 

Ml•:M()K^• oi- HON. ()K\ii.i.K iirrcncocK I"I,.\tt. 

Mr. Sl'icuKV. Mr. ,SjK-aker. the liuur having arrived for the 
exerci.ses, I send to the Clerk's desk the following resolution. 
The Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved, That in pursuance of the .special orilcr liLTclofure adopted, 
the House proctc<l to pay tribute to the nieinory of the Hon. Orvii.le 
Hitchcock Pi..\tt, late a Senator from the Stale of Connecticut. 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the niimory of the de- 
ce;ised, and in recognition of his distinj^uished career ami his ureal .ser\'ice 
to his country as a fnited States Senator, the House, at the conclusion ol 
the memorial ])roceedings of this day, shall stand adjourned. 

Resolied, Thai the Clerk of the House communicate thesi- nsolutions 
to the Senate. 

Resoli'ed, That the Clerk of the House be, an<l he is hereby, inslructeil 
to send a copy of these resolutions to the family of the deceased. 

The S1'1';.\K1':k. The (|Uestic)n is on agreeing to the resolu- 
tions. 

The question was taken; and the resolutions were iniani- 
nicusly agreed to. 



Address of Mr. Sprrry, of i'oiiii(< /i( /</ (j<> 



Address of Mr. Sferry, of Connecticut 

Mr. vSpKKKV. Mi. vSpcakcr, dcatli dealt vt;r>- liai>lil\ willi 
the State* of Cinniciticul lUiriiit; the \ear just passed. It re- 
moved from us twcicit iiur noblest and truest men when Senator 
Jo.seph R. Ha\vle\- and Senator ( )k\ii.i,k H. Pi..\tt were 
called to that land " whence no man relurneth." The death of 
the hrilliant soldier and statesman, tienera! Hawle>', was a 
hard blow, but not unexpected. We were prepared for that. 
But within a month of Senator Hawle\''s death our .senior 
Senator was suddenly stricken down at the heii;ht of his 
career and u.sefulness to the vState. The death of Senator 
Pl.vtt, so unexpected, so sudden, and following so clo.sely the 
death of Senator Hawley, cast a gloom over the entire State, 
and they were mourned in almost every home. 

The life and political career of Hon. Orvii.lk Hitchcock 
Pi..\TT demonstrates what persistency, common sen.se, and Ikju- 
esty will accomplish. When Senator Pl.vTT was first elected 
to the Senate in 1879, he was not a national figure. Indeed, 
his fame had hardly spread outside of his own State. True, he 
had Ijeen honored by his fellow-citi/.ens with main' (:}ffioes. He 
was known and respected as an honest, hardworking man of 
recognized ability, but onl\- his nu.ist intimate friends dared to 
predict that in time he would l.iecome one of the leaders of the 
United States vSenate and of the whole country. 

His growth in power and influence was not a sudden one. 
It was steady, slow, but sure. For tweiitx- years of his Sena- 
torial life he was unconsciously preparing liimself for the great 
responsibilities that awaited him as chairman of the Committee 



lOO Life tJnti Character of OrvilU- //. Plait 

on Cuban Affairs. By attending faithfully to liis duly, hy 
never swerving one iota from the path he believed to l)e right, 
Senator Platt gained the confidence and esteem of his col- 
leagues in the Senate. More and more, with each passing 
3'ear, his advice was .sought, until he was reckoned among the 
leaders in the upix-r branch of Congress. 

Still for the.se many \ears the country at large knew but 
little of the .senior Senator from Connecticut. His nuxle.sty 
and his retiring disposition .stood in his way. He cared noth- 
ing for the transient fame that most men .strive for. He 
sought and obtained the high regard of his own colleagues, 
the be.st judges of his ability. So when the serious problems 
growing out of the Spanish war confronted us, especially with 
regard to the future of Cuba, it was no surpri.se to tlK)se who 
had watched Senator Pi..\tt for twenty years to find that upon 
him devolved the task of solving the complex question of our 
relations with the island of Cuba. As chainiian of the Com- 
mittee on Cuban Affairs Senator Pi..VTT made himself thor- 
oughly familiar with the work in hand, as he always did. 
The Platt aniendment, which practically insures to Cuba a free 
and stable government, stands to-day as a monument to his 
statesmanship and his skill as a legislator. 

The passage of that amendment made Senator Pi..\tt a 
famous man ihrou.ulu>ut the world. He had at last come into 
his own, and the country- acknowledged him as one of its great- 
est men. He seemed to grow from that time on with rapid 
strides. Again the country heard of him as the presiding offi- 
cer of the Swayne impeachment trial, last session. With dig- 
nitv, with fidelity, and with impartiality he attended day after 
day to this arduous duty, and the end of the long struggle 
found him worn-out, ill, but brave to the last. Kven then no 
one suspected that he would be called so soon. His devotion 



Address of Mr. Sprriw <>/ C'<)ini<f//i /// mi 

t" ilut\'. his ;i\i(lit\' for work, tinall\ L;ot the heller ot him and 
laid him low at the very /eiiilh nf his eareer. 

While for raan\- \ears Senator I'i.att worked failhfnil\- as a 
national lea;islalor wilhoul sectirini; the recognition due him 
from the nation at large, we of Connecticut knew and honored 
him. Indeed, he served longer than an>- other Conneetient man 
in the Senate. His first election, in 1S71), was a long-drawn- 
out struggle, but four times since then he was the unanimous 
choice of the RepuVilicans in our legislature. It was indeed the 
greatest tribute the people of Connecticut could ]>a>' him. Xo 
matter who were elected to the legislature year after >ear, the 
voters demanded the relention of Senator Pi..\TT. and none 
dared, nay even wished, to oppose him. 

Il wa,s no wonder that Senator Pi^.vtt was beloved and hon- 
ored l)v the State in which he lived practically all his life. He 
was distincth' a son of Connecticut. Born in Washington, 
among the Ijeautiful hills of Litchfielil County, Jidy U), i''^-';, 
he spent his entire life in the State, with the exception of a 
few months in Pennsylvania. In 1851 Senator Pl.vtt opened 
a law office in Meriden, and then began, b\- slow de.grees, his 
growth and his political career, which finalh" culminated in 
the United States Senate. In 1853 he was elected judge of 
probate of Meriden, the first political office he held. He was 
one of the founders of the Republican ]iarty in Coinieclicut, in 
1S56, and in 1S57 was elected .secretary of state. In iS6i-^i2 
he ser\-ed in the State senate. Two years later he was a mem- 
ber of the lower house and chairman of the judiciary commit- 
tee. Five years after that he was again a member of the 
house and chosen its sjieaker. When he retired from that 
office he was known and respected throughout the vState, and 
even then he was looked upon as the coming statesman of 
Connecticut. 



I02 Li/'i' and Character of Orrillc II. Plait 

Ft)r SDiuc liiiR-, liowevtrr, Senator Pi.att retired from poli- 
tics to devote liiiiiself to his increasiiij; law jiractice. It was 
not initil 1S77 that he again held office. He was then ap- 
pointed vState attorney for New Haven County, which posi- 
tion he held until elected to the Senate. vSiich, in brief, was 
the history of the jjolitical life of Senator I'i..\tt. In .ill 
these \arious offices he displayed the wonderful energy, com- 
mon .sen.se, and capacity for work which finally brought him 
such renown and honor. Never a breath of scandal tainted 
his life. His honesty was never questioned. What he be- 
lieved to be right he did, and he never curried i>opular favor. 
Throughout his busy life he continued the even tenor of his 
way, looking always .straight ahead, never caring one iota for 
public praise or censure. He knew he always did his duty 
as he .saw it. and he felt confitlent the peo])le, who showered 
jK)litical honors upon him, would rightl)' estimate the sjiirit 
and value of his work. And they did. 

To me per.sonally Senator Pi..\tt was ])articularl\- clo.se. 
We were within nine days of the .same age, and for fift\- 
years we had been together in all the struggles of the Re- 
publican party in Connecticut. I was ])roud to call myself 
one of his intimate friends, and to be on the .same .side with 
him in our ])olilical battles. I loved liim, honored him, and 
esteemed him. His lo.ss was to me a personal one, and he 
left a vacancy in my heart that no man can fill. His mem- 
ory will ever remain very dear to me, as it also will to all 
who knew liim well. 

The jirival.; life of Senator Pi..\TT was clean, straightfor- 
ward, and honest. His habits were exemplary; yes, frugal. 
He was a man who cared not for show. His tastes were sim- 
ple, and he loved God's nature. W'hen rich in years .and 
honors he still longed for the simple life of the little country 



.l(/<fris.s (>/ Mr. Spiiry, of Coiii/cc /ii 11/ 103 

town anioni; the hilK where he was horn, and Id it hi- veluined 
til Uw ami to die. Here in the early s]irin.i; he hreatlied his 
last, almost on the \'ery spot where he hrsl saw the lij^ht of 
day. How fittinj;" that a man of his temperament shotilil he 
horn and die amont; the hills anil scenes he lo\ed so well! 

To the ]ieoj)le of his native town he was alvva>s a neii;hbor, 
not a distinguished Senator, and he took an acti\e interest in 
their affairs, small as they were, comjiared to the (juestions 
with which he was accustomed to deal. And here, on a beau- 
tiful spring day, the last .sad rites were performed. Here he 
was laid to rest in the jiretty little cemetery on the hill. It 
was an impressive ceremony iu its simplicit>'. To the little 
country church his remains were borne upon the shoulders of 
his neighbors — farmers — who had known him all their lives. 
Here there were no flowery funeral orations, no show, simph- 
the devoted and silent tril)ute of friends and neighbors. Dis- 
tinguished men from the United vStates vSenate and Hou.se, 
high State officials, and members of the legislature all liowed 
their heads in heartfelt grief as the sim])le words of the Go.spel 
lesson were read. 

\\'ith bared heads all followed in the procession to the ceme- 
ter>'. A few more words of prayer and all that was earthly 
of Okvillk H. Pl.\tt was laid to re.st. 

Ma\' his memory ever remain fresli in our minds and in our 
hearts! May his life teach to our young men a lesson of hon- 
est}', of integrity, of devotion to duty, and of simplicity, for 
all tlie.se made him a great and noble man! 

Of him can truthfully be .said: "Well done, thou good and 
faithful servant." 



104 /-//'■ "■""' Character of Orx'ill,- II. I'latI 



Address of Mr. Lilley, of CoNNEcncur. 

Mr. Lii.i.KV of Connecticut. Mr. SjK-akcr, .situated anionj^ 
the lower ranges of the beautiful Oreen Mountains, in one 
<5f the most charming spots of old New England, is the pic- 
turesque town of Wasliington, in the State of Connecticut, 
un.suq)a.s.sed for its scenic lieaut\', inhabited by descendants 
of the Puritans. Here lies all that is earthly of our honored 
and beloved statesman, .scholar, and jiatriot, Okvili.k Hitch- 
cock Pl.\tt. 

When his great spirit took its flight, not only did every 
right-minded inhabitant of our ])rond Connnonwealth feel 
that they had suffered an irreparable loss, but the people of 
this great Republic, realizing that he belonged to them almo.st 
as much as to Connecticut, mourned with us. We rise above 
our sorrow with a quickening of mingled pride and pleasure 
to recall this true son of the Puritans as he labored in our 
mid.st, a man of the highest abilities, with a sterling, noble 
character. 

The high office to which our people, through llioir chosen 
representatives, elevated him, and which he liad fdled with 
so much grace and such marked ability, came to him un.sought. 
At the expiration of his first and each succeeding term he 
was the unanimous choice of his part>', the value of his life's 
work lKi\ing been the more appreciated by his native State 
as the years rolled by, the zenith of his power ever rising 
without a wane until grim deatli halted the upward course. 

Senator Pl.xtt was a .statesman in all that word implies 
and in its fullest sense, po.ssessing that keen perspective 



.IMnws of M)\ l.iII(-\\ of C'oin/odii 11/ 105 

facuU\- of Idokini; far into Ur- future-, foiL-lflliivj, with acou- 
rac\' the result uf le.t;islatii)ii. Ahva\s with tht- liest interests 
(if liis lieliiveil State jiaranionut, \\v iie\'er failed tn aecc>ril due 
and careful consideratiou to everv issue of the Kepuhlii- as a 
unit and to her e\-er>' citizen, lielie\-in,!; in legislation result- 
in>,r in the .<;'reatest ;j.(iod to the .t;reatest numbers, ,ind when 
he was called to that "land which is faiier than da\'" there 
was left a \did in that .ijreat coordinate branch of this C.ox-- 
ermnent which will not soon be filled. 

His faith" in the people and in our form of t;o\-ernment was 
remarkable and aliidinij;, especially in the Senate, where he had 
devoted nearly a generation .so industriously, so assiduously, 
so unceasingly. He believed that the Senate as at present 
constituted contained as able, forceful deljaters, as jiowerful 
orators, and men as fearless, as honest, and with as great intel- 
lectual minds as it ever contained since the foinidation of the 
Government. Calling upon him one e\'ening during the last 
Congress, as was my custom, for instruction and inspiration, 
I recall his .saying that he had just listened to a speech b\- one 
of his collea,gues which, in his opinion, was the ecpial, it not 
the superior, of any that had e\er lieen uttered upon the floor 
of that Chamber. 

His farsighted statesmanship was neither a gift of nature 
nor a lucky stroke of chance, but the logical outcome of a mind 
such as was his. analytical and constructive, devoted to thor- 
ough investigation of facts and jirecedents. 

The very life of Senator Pl.vtt all \-ies and blends with 
his intellectual attaiinnents. His life was simplicit>- itself — 
kind, gentle, unassunung. thoughtful onl> of others, never 
of .self; ever doing good, loving his fellow-men, honorin,g God, 
and servin.g his country with all his might, all his soul, all hi,s 
strength. 



lo6 Life ami C/mnuhr of Orrillc II. Platl 

Let us hojH; that this typical old Xew Ivuglaiid type of 
manhood ina>- ever stand preeuiiiiently before our younjj men 
of Connecticut and of our whole country as an ideal, attain- 
ing^ which all the world will say, "His life was a success. " 

I can not refrain ( if I may be pardoned for speaking of 
mj'self > from expressing my keen personal loss, our relations 
being of the most friendly character. Frequently I went to 
him, as a child to his father, for advice and guidance, and 
though oftentimes imjieding his constant laliors he always 
welcomed me as a father his son. and never did I lea\L- with- 
out feeling benefitted and inspired with a clearer under- 
standing. 

As we pay our last tribute to such a worthy life, there is 
.sweet .solace in the thought that Connecticut loves and hon- 
ors him, and will ever cherish and revere his memorj'. 



liidriss <i/' Mr. ffiiiry, «f Count liini/ 



Address of Mr. Henry, oe Conneqicut. 

Mr. Henry of Coiiut;cticut. Mr. .Speaker, wliuii the thir- 
teen Knglish colonies in North America confederated to re- 
sist the oppressive laws and unjust taxation impo.sed li>- the 
nii.>ther country, the colony of Connecticut .sent Ro.i;er Sher- 
man, vSilas Dean, and Eliphalet Dyer as Representatives to 
the first Continental Congress. Subsequently the colony was 
represented by Oliver Wolcott, Sanuiel Huntington, William 
Williams, and Roger Sherman, signers of the Declaration of 
Independence. After the adoption of the Federal Constitu- 
tion the State was represented in the early Congresses by 
C)liver Ellsworth, William Samuel Johnson, Roger Sherman, 
and Jonathan Trumbull, historic names which still ha\-e 
power to stir the hearts of all patriotic sons of Coiuiecticut. 

In later years Connecticut has been .served in the Senate 
of the United States by many brilliant and able men — Xiles, 
Baldwin, Smith, Toucey, Gillett, Foster, Dixon, Ferry, Katon, 
Hawley, PlaTT, all notable and distinguished names in the 
story of American hi.story. 

The last of these, whose memory we commemorate and honor 
to-dav, surpa.ssed all his predecessors in length of sen.-ice, and 
was the peer of any upon that roll of illustrious .statesmen who 
for more than a century liave graced the Senate and honored 
the State they represented. 

Orviixe Hitchcock Platt was first elected to the United 
States Senate in 1S79, and serA-ed continuously for twenty-six 



io8 Life and Oinnu/tr of Orzillc //. Plait 

years; four times reelected without oppositiou witliiu his j)an\-, 
lie was easih- the most i)opular statesman of his generation in 
the State he loved and served. Always frankly expressing his 
views upon pending political issues and current events, he pre- 
ferred to lead rather than follow public opinion; sometimes 
criticised by political opponents and less farseeing men, he 
patiently awaited the vindication the future invariably brought. 
His thorough comprehension of apparently difficult economic 
and political problems, his faculty for forecasting and initiating 
original definite policies (well illustrated 1>\- the amendment 
bearing his name attached to legi.slation defining our relations 
with Cuba) gave him high rank as a constructive statesman 
and inclined other men of inferior perceptive faculties to defer 
to his judgment and accept his leadership. 

Perhaps no higher compliment can l)e jiaid to his superior 
inductive powers than to say that his leadership was never a 
disap[K)intment; his friends, his con.stituents, his colleagues in 
the Senate, as well as high officials of the nation, ever found 
in him a wise and safe adviser. 

Senator Pi..\tt was of the best Puritan lineage. His paternal 
ancestor, first settler Richard Platl, was, in 163S, one of the 
founders of New Haven colony, his name being upon the first 
assessment list of that colony. " Cioodman " Piatt, as he was 
styled in the ijuaint language of the period found in the colonial 
records, was in s\nipathy with the views of the Rev. John 
Davenport, of mast pious memory, a Puritan of the strictest 
faith, who, regarding the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and 
Connecticut colonists as lax in civil and ecclesiastical methods, 
led his followers to the founding of a new colony u])on the 
shores of Long Island Sound, wliere he earnestly labored to 
establi.sh a purely religious commonwealth, governed in accord- 
ance with scriptural teachings, an ideal theocratic republic 



.lt/i//rss I'l }[)'. f/<iir\\ of C(iin/<(/ini/ 109 

where church discijihue ami ci\ il i;i>\cniiuciit should remain 
inseparable. 

It is doubtful if history can afTord a hij^her hercditar>- title 
of true m)bilit>' than is presented b\' the descendants cif these 
iron-willed, sti)Ut-hearted, freedoni-lovini;-, stalwart Christians 
of three centuries a.^o, who planted the bei;innin;_;s of emjiire 
upon the inhospitable soil of New l'jij;laml. 

Possibly influenced by inherited mental tendencies, \et such 
Puritanism as Senator Platt possessed was broadened and 
made tolerant by his Christian charitx and kindl\- regard for 
all of C rod's creatures; he k)ved his fellow-men, and the>- repaid 
his self-sacrificing devotion by nncinestioninj; confidence and 
respect. 

The .son of a ])lain Connecticut farmer, of a class to be found 
in most New England towns, the best blood of the land, and 
more than any other portion of our people, the founders and 
builders of the Republic, young Okvili.k H. Platt encoun- 
tered the difficulties attendant upon his humljle early environ- 
ments, biU with \irile energy, transmitted through a long line 
of sturdy ancestors, the Yankee boy fought his way to man- 
hood, success, and ultimate fame. Triumphantly overcoming 
all obstacles, he acquired a fundamental education equal to the 
exigencies and re([uirements of a long and distinguished career. 
Poor in pocket, but rich in a determination to make his wa\' in 
the world, he entered upon the practice of his chosen profes- 
sion, and almost immediately secured favorable recognition as a 
.sound and able lawyer. Soon called to political preferment. 
Senator Pl.vTT',s abilit\-, tact, and honestw in pulilic as in ])ri- 
vate life, commanded the confidence not onl>- of his inunediate 
constituents, but of the people of the entire vState. His wis- 
dom grew and kejit pace with his experience, and ripened into 
statesmanship which year after year more and more gained him 



no Life and Cliiuncttr of Oriillr //. I'loll 

]K)j)ular favor, increased his jxiwcr for good, and won him 
national recognition nntil his fame and reputation was even 
broader than our national boundaries. 

In resolutions adopted by the Connecttcut general assem- 
bly, innnediately after Senator Pi,.\tt's decease, it was accu- 
rately stated; * 

"Connecticut jjeople have with ever-increa.sing apprecia- 
tion followed his course of steady and substantial growth 
and development to the commanding position of influence 
which he exercised at the seat of government, and the feel- 
ing of our ]:eople toward Okn'ii.i.i-: H. Pi..\tt, as in his 
advancing years he still bore the heat and burden of the 
daj- in the di.scharge of his resjxjnsible duties, can not be 
measured by mere appreciation and respect, but was and is 
more akin to love, and the memory of his simple and win- 
ning ]>ersonalit>', and his earnest devotion to the interests 
of the .State and country will long linger in the memory of 
a grateful people." 

In this place and presence it is sujKTfluous to refer to 
the well-known fact that few men possessed greater influ- 
ence with the last and present national Administrations than 
Senator Pl.vtt. President Roosevelt, alike with President 
McKinley, fretpienlh- sought .and followed the advice of 
Connecticut's senior Senator, at all times finding in him a 
statesman of trained intellect and skilled experience, a coun- 
sellor whose wi.sdom never failed. His frank, decisive man- 
ner, clear-headed views, and comprehensive grasp of all 
public questions inspired conviction and fixed the judgment 
of all who sought his confidence or came within the .scope of 
his influence. 

I'pon occasion reticent with strangers, but afi'able and 
approachable, Senator Pi..\TT was always genial to his friends; 



^-li///ri'ss (>/.]//. I lt)n\\ (>/ C'oinii c in 11/ ill 

oflcn optiniislic, Ik- rarel\- iiululi;i.-il in pL'^sinii^lic \-ie\v^, and 
wIilU other men of less firm faith in dod's jirox-idenee were 
doubtful of the future, and inclined to despair of the Kc]iul)- 
lic, he, with hoi)eful tiust in our eountry's destin>', remained 
safely anchored to his positive altruistic convictions. 

Fortunately hlessed with a loui; and untranuneled mental 
development, he in the fullness of years, in complete posses- 
sion of every intellectual power, with jiristine vitjor unim- 
paired, passed to his reward. 



112 Life and Character of Orville //. Plat I 



Address of Mr. Higgins, of Connecticut 

Mr. Hii.Gi.vs. Mr. Speaker, following a long-established 
practice, it is eniinentl\' fitting that this Ht)u.se pause at times 
in its usual deliberations for reflection and ])ay just tribute 
and t)fTer eulogy to those whose lives in this forum have been 
spent in eminent service to their country. 

So we this day .set aside the u.sual duties that would occupy 
us to h(}nor the. memory of Okvillk Hitchcock Pl.\tt, for 
twenty-six years an honored and distinguished Senator from 
Connecticut. .\ service for more than a quarter of a centurx- 
in the highest legislative body in the world speaks for it.self 
of loyalty to State and fidelity to trust. 

It was not my privilege to have known and associated 
with Senator Pi..\tt as a colleague, but as one in his own 
State, among his own people, by whom ho was greath' loved 
and trusted. The jK-ople of Connecticut were justly jiroud 
of him. 

Senator 1'l.\TT j)ossessed the \irtues of integrit\-, industry. 
and a fine sense of justice. Loathing .sham anil without jire- 
tense, his abilities manifested them.selves in a broad and earnest 
patriotism and devotion to his country, his family, and his 
friends. He was jireeminent as a coun.sellor, and his judgment 
was often .sought. Because of his capacity to look into the 
future, his aliility to initiate, and his clear analysis of what 
had .seemed intricate problems, the determination of great (jues- 
tions often rested with him. 

The history of our country records evidences of his luistiuted 
labors and devotion to the highest and best interests of those 



.^(Mrrss of Mr. ffii^i^ins^i of Coinu-cticitl 113 

wlioiu he had hecii cho.scn to serve. Tliis House honors itself 
in the tributes of love and respect we this dav pa\' to the 
uienior}- of Senator Pi.att. A knowleilge of his life's work 
of service should he an inspiration to all men. Well may his 
virtues and undainited courage cau.se us to strive for the 
highest and be.st. 

S. Doc. 534, 59-1 8 



114 f-'fi' '"'^ Character of Orville II. Piatt 



Address of Mr. Hill, of CorwEcncuT 

Mr. Hii.L of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, others have already 
reviewed the details of the life and work of Senator O. H. 
Pl.\tt. Let me refer to a bit of unwritten history with which 
he was connected and show the result of the influence which he 
exertetl. 

When the Republic of Hawaii was organized, the first min- 
ister to this country chanced to be a personal friend of mine. 
Soon after his arrival at Washington he asked ine to pro- 
cure an inler\-iew for him with the senior Senator from Con- 
necticut. On Senator Platt's suggestion the inlLr\iew was 
held in a closed carriage on that same evening, and, as the 
driver wandered aimlessly for nearly three hours about the 
streets of Washington, inside of that carriage questions were 
put and answers given, policies discus.sed and conclusions 
reached, whicli ultimately brought Hawaii under the sov- 
ereignty of the United States as an organized Territory. 

Leaving the minister at his home, I took the Senator to 
his hotel, and as he stepped from the carriage he said: "I 
guess the time has come when we nnist think about entering 
upon .some form of a colonial system." From that day the 
one ab-sorbing thought of his life was the relation which the 
United States, the dominant jiower of the Western Hemis- 
phere, should hold to the weaker continental powers and the 
islands in the two oceans which wash our shores; and when 
a little later the war with Spain had thrown upon us the 
resixinsil)ility of Cuba, Porto Rico, and the Philippines, and 
.statesmen doubted as to the right of a representative republic 



.■Ii////yss (1/ Mr. 1 1 ill ^ o/ ('(niiurliiul 115 

to Imlil tonlrcil ami m i\(.Tcii;iU\' cil inire|)ri.-M.-iUeil ]H-()|ik's, 1il- 
(lcinonstratt.-(l hc-Ndiul cavil nr dispuU', in a sjierch of wcni- 
dcrful siniplioitx- luit maiAL-lous sti"fn.i;th, Uiat the Unitfd 
States possessL'tl iiiheriteiith', as well as under its Constitu- 
tion, all of the ri.iilits and ])o\vers jiertainins' to an\' absolutely 
independent S(>\ereiL;n natimi. Tlie I'latt anKiidnient to the 
Cuban constitution was only a ])ractical aiijilication of the 
principles enunciated in the earlier s])eech, and it is entirely' 
safe to say, that as Abraham Lincoln demonstrated to the 
world the ri;j;ht of the Republic to preserve its own life 
a,t;ainst attacks from within, so it is due to ()k\'ii,i.I': H. 
I'l.ATT, as nuich as to any other one man, that the United 
States stands forth among the powers of the world to-day 
the equal of any in every right, in every pri\ilege, in every 
degree and kind of sovereignty, and lacking in n<i resjiect in 
any prerogative enjoxed or claimed by any other. If he had 
done nothing else but this in his twenty-six years of service 
in the Senate, he would have left his imprint on the history 
of his time. 

He entered the .Senate in LSjy, an ordinary Xew England 
country lawyer, Imt great enough to stick when flung up 
against the chance of greater opportunities. For a quarter 
of a century he studied and toiled for the welfare of a grate- 
ful constituency — no want of theirs too small to escape his 
notice; no demand too large or too frequent to exhaust his 
patience — and yet through it all it is manifest, as we look 
back over his life work, that he saw, as all nuist .see who in 
the thick of things at the nation's capital see at all, that the 
real welfare and enduring prosperit}- of his (jwn little State 
was inextricably bound up and absolutely interwoven with 
the larger national life. I do not belie\e that it ever entered 
into the mind of Okville H. Pl.vtt that his efficiencv as a 



Il6 Lift- and Character of Orziilc //. Plait 

representative or his greatness as a Senator would or could 
be measured 1>\' llic number or size of the ai)i)ropnations 
which lie niijjht secure from the National Treasury for 
exf)enditure within the boundaries of his own State, for he 
looked upon the States as " niemtiers of one body," whcse 
general welfare was his highest concern. Whether as chair- 
man of the Connnittee on Territories or Patents, creating 
sovereign States in the then boundless West, or securing for 
the individual the reward of inventive genius, he worked 
just as patiently and devotedly in the one case as the other; 
but his thought, his counsel, .-ind his vote were go\'erned 
and controlled by the way in which he believed the interests 
of the whole people were to l)e affected by his action. 

He loved to stand ujxni the \ery hilltop of national affairs 
and .sweep into one view llie whole horizon, and then retir- 
ing into solitude and .seclusion work out to a wise .■-■olution 
the jiroblems of our national life, over which other men with 
selfish thoughts and narrower vision oftentimes stumbled and 
fell. 

He entered the Senate in iSji) literally a .State man, 
unknown to the country at Large and probably unacquainted 
with anyone there except possiblj- his own colleague from 
Connecticut. Twenty-six years later he died in his country's 
service a state.sinan in the true meaning of that word, a leader 
among leaders, and during all that time no man can truth- 
fully say but that he bore a character above reproach, serving 
with fidelity and zeal his State, his country, and liis God. 
[Applause.] 



A(i(fr(ss of .]fr. /\rvii,, c/ Xi:f York 117 



Address of Mr. Payne, of New York 

Mr. I'AVN'i':. Mr. Speaker, I first hecaniL- ac<iiiaintcil with 
Senator <)K\ll,i.i': H. Pl.ATT when I entered the House, in 
Deceniher, 1.SS3. He had then served four years in the .Senate 
and was highly respected \)\ his colleag-ues. He had ah'eady 
taken high rank as a Lawyer and as a wise counselor. 

I l)ecanie more intimately acquainted with liim during the 
passage of the McKinley tariff liill in 1S90. I found him hroad 
and liVieral minded, with a thorough aciiuaintance with the 
condition of the indu.stries of the coimtr\-. I did not fail t(.) 
consult liini at that time upon man\- of the features of the bill. 
Associated as I was on the Committee on Ways and Mear.s 
with Mr. McKiule\- (afterwards President), with Mr. I'.urrows 
(now a Senator from Michigan), with Mes.srs. Dingley, 15ayne, 
and Gear, all of whom are now deceased, and with Mr. Mc- 
Kenna, now a justice of the Supreme Court, and Mr. La 
Follette, of Wisconsin, now a Senator, I still found it vet)' 
advantageous to confer frequently' with Senator l'i,.\TT of 
Connecticut. 

During the preparation of the so-called " Dingle>- Act," in 
1897, I learned still more to reh' upon the jud.gment and snund 
sen.se of Senator Pi..vtt. He was most intimatel\' a.ssociated 
with the late Charles A. Russell, then a Kepresentati\'e from 
the State of Coiuiecticut, and a distinguished member of the 
Connnittee on Wa>s and Means. 

vSenator Pl..\T'r was gentle in his manner, modest, and retir- 
in.g, a man never seeking ojiportunitN- to instruct or obtruding 



Ii8 /,//;• and Channlcr of Orvillr //. Plait 

liis advice, hm \vli<i was iiuich soiijjlit after by his c<)Ile:if!^ies 
on account of tlic soundness of his judj;inent. He was admitted 
to the bar when 22 years of age, and was indeed learned in the 
law. Hewasof the judicial temperament and not an aggressive 
parti.san, although ever true to his convictions. He was not an 
orator in the ordinary .sense of the term, but he had a way of 
stating his case clearly and of marshaling his facts in logical 
sequence so as to carry conviction to tho.se who heard him. He 
never made a show .speech nor an advertised one. He spoke 
o!il\- when lie had an object to be attained and seemed to shrink 
from debate luiless he felt it his dut\- to inform the Senate u]>on 
pending matters with which he was familiar. Therefore his 
speaking ever conunanded the attention of tlie Senate. He 
was a persevering and laborious student and his mind was well 
stored with useful information and imjiortant facts. He went 
straight to the point. In the true .sense of the word, on the 
basis that a successful .speech is one that moves the minds of 
men and forces conviction, he was an orator of rare ability. 
He was honest, not alone in the sense that nt) dishonest dollar 
ever polluted his hand — honesty of that character entitles a 
man to comparatively little credit, though the lack of it even in 
that sense is abhorrent to all right-thinking men, and the ac- 
ceptance of a bribe can not l)e too .severely condemned as graft 
ami theft — but Senator Pl..\TT liad a higher plane of integritw 
He was hone.st in his work and iu his studies, in his search for 
truth, and in the ])rocesses of his mind. He was careful to 
work out the truth and was not afraid to stand upon it. 

lie lived ill tile midst of industrial and ct)miiiercial activ- 
ity. During all the years of his political life his State was 
like a busy hive. He .studied industrial questions with zeal 
and candor. The mutual and interdependent interests of 
capital and lalwr were a matter of daih' observation. He 



AMrcss of Mr. Paviic, of New York 119 

brought ti) tliL' stnil>- of these i|Uesti()iis that stroiit!, cDiniiioii 
sense which was the most strikin^^ characteristic of his iniinl. 

He served on the most important committees in the Sen- 
ate, being for some years prior to his death chairman of the 
Committee on Relations with Cuba, a member of tlie Com- 
mittee on Finance, on Indian AtTairs, on tlie Judiciary, on Pri- 
vate Land Claims, on the Five Ci\-ili/ed Tribes of Indians, 
and on Patents. I am told that his committee work was 
the most important of all his services in the Senate. In 
the Senate or in the House the real work of the Legisla- 
ture is done in committee. Here the great measures are 
generally most thoroughly considered; great cjuestions are 
worked out to their last analysis, and on such matters the 
perfected l)ill in committee generally passes into law without 
much amendment. In the quiet of the committee room his 
indefatigable labor, his unerring judgment, and his concise 
and direct speech, as well as his talent for constructive states- 
manship, won for him the first rank. 

The crowning work i}f his vSenatorial career is undoubtedly 
what is known as the "Piatt amendments," introduced b\- him 
in the Senate in 1901 as amendments to the niilitar>- appropria- 
tion bill. These amendments were afterwards embodied in the 
Cuban constitution and also in the permanent treaty with the 
Cuban Republic. At the time these amendments were intro- 
duced in the Senate there was much .sentiment on the subject 
of our Cuban relations which had little foundation in rea.son. 
We undertook the war for Cuba, disclaiming and foreclosing in 
the declaration of war all thought or hope of national gain. 
It was a war for humanity, undertaken in the spirit of friend- 
ship for the relief of the suffering people at our very gates. 
The story of our philanthropy toward the Cuban adorns the 
l)rightest page in our histor\-. When the war was concluded, 



I20 Life and Character of Orrillc If. Piatt 

in carn-ing out our promise as the guardian of the Cuban peo- 
ple, and when we were about to gi\e them a separate and inde- 
pendent government, there was danger that our philanthropic 
feeling, our desire not only to merit the good opinion of llie 
world, but ()Ur fear of criticism in the slightest degree in tlie 
manner in which we should carry out our intention, would lead 
US into the adoj)tion of measures not only unwise on our part, 
but wliich wouUl prove disastrous to the Cuban Government 
and sow the seeds of its downfall. It was at this point that 
Senator Platt came forward with his amendments. The 
propositions which he advanced were clearly in the interests of 
the Cuban people and of their infant Republic. They restricted 
the new Government from entering into any entangling alliance 
with foreign powers which might impair or tend to impair their 
independence or tt) ])erinit any foreign power from obtaining a 
lodgment within its territory. They prevented them from 
entering into any public debt the payment of which should be 
beyond their means. This provi.sion cut off the greatest 
menace to the stability of the Cuban (io\ernment. 

The third amendment gave us the right to intervene for the 
preservation of Cuban independence and in the defen.se of the 
Cuban Government against internal as well as external foes. 

The tourth amendment validated all acts of the I'nited ^States 
in Cuba and all lawful rights aciiuired thereunder. 

The fifth amendment exacted a .solenni promi.se that Cuba 
should execute and, when necessary, extend our plans for sani- 
tation throughout the island. 

The sixth amendment left ()])en the vexed iiue.stion of title to 
the Isle of Pines, to be adjusted by future treaty. 

The seventh amendment ])rovided for coal and naval stations 
at certain points for the protection of Cuba and the defense of 
the United States against other nations. 



^-li^i-fj-i-s.s (if Ml. I\n'iii\ iif Neii' Yoi-k 121 

Tliese anicniliiicnts were criticised soinewhat at the tiiin.-, anil 
an endeavor was made to show that the\- would not lie lor the 
l)enetlt of Cuba, hill for the aggrandizement of tlie I'nited 
States. Although the>- have been hut five years in operation, 
the results have successfullx- \indicated the wi.sdom and patriot- 
ism of Orvii.LH H. I'i,.\TT and furnish an example of his 
foresight and statesmanship. 

He lived out almost fourscore years, which "hv reason of 
strength" is allotted to few, and could look hack u])on a suc- 
cessful and well-s])ent life. He rests now from his labors on 
one of the lieautiful hills of his native vState. For more than a 
quarter of a centur>' he had been a ]irominent figure in the 
other branch of the National Con.gress. There lie had .served 
his constituents with faithful toil, with jiatient zeal, with intel- 
ligence, and patriotism. He had made their cares, their toils, 
and their Inirdens his own. He had rejoiced with them in their 
victories. His memory is graven on their hearts, a living moiui- 
ment to the worth and true greatness of the man. [Applan.se.] 



122 Life and Charact,r of 0>"-i//f //. I'/a/l 



Address of Mk. Clarx, of Missouri 

Mr. Ci.AKK of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, up to the 4tli of last 
March our Governiiieut liad existed one hundred and seven- 
teen years under the Constitution. 

Connecticut, being one of the thirteen original States, had 
to that date two hundred and thirt\-four years of ser\nce in 
the Senate of the United States at her disposal. By election 
or appointment .she has sent thirty-six men to represent her 
in tile less numerous branch of the Federal Congress, fre- 
quently but iniprojierly denominated "the upper House:" Oli- 
ver Ivllsworth, William .S. John.son, Roger Sherman, Stephen 
Mix Mitchell. James Hillhou.se, Jonathan Trumbull, Uriah 
Tracy^ Chauucey Goodrich, Samuel \V. Dana, David Daggett, 
James Lanman, Ivlijah Boardman, Henry W. Edwards, Calvin 
W'ilky, Samuel A. Koote, Gideon Tomlinson, Nathan Smith. 
John M. Xiles. Perry Smith, Thaddeus Betts, Jaliez \V. Hunt- 
ington, Roger vS. Baldwin, Truman Smith, Lsaac Toucey, Fran- 
cis Gillette, I^afayette S. Foster. James Dixon, Orris .S. Ferry, 
William A. Huckingham, Williatii W. ICaloii. William II. Bar- 
num. James F. ICnglish, Okvii.i.k Hitchcock 1'l.vtt, Joseph 
R. Hawlew Morgan Gardner Bulkeley, and Frank Bosworth 
Brandegee. 

Our well-beloved friend, the late Amos J. Cunnnings, was 
wont to say that the average service of a Representative in 
Congress is four years. As a matter of fact, it is about six, 
and it is increasing steadily as constituencies fall inore and 
more into the excellent habit of retaining faithful and capable 
Representatives. 



.■lt/(/ri'ss !>/ .]//-. CIiirl\ o/MissDnri 123 

The averatje vSenatorial service is im douht Itiiij^fr than the 
avera.n'e Represeiitati\-e service, hut tile forei^oiuL;- fi.i;iires as to 
Connecticut show that had the Senatorial service ot Messrs. 
Bnlkeley and Drandev^ee closed on the 4th of last March 
the a\'erai(e service of her vSenators would lia\-e been only 
six and onedialf \ears, which is astonishini;l\- low when we 
renieniher that her cunservatisni is so pronounced that one of 
her popular sohriiiuets is "The Lanii of Steady Habits," and 
when we recall the further fact that she has experienced few 
political revolntions. 

The brevity of the average ser\'ice of the Senators seems the 
in(jre remarkable when it is remembered that it is in the East 
in general and in New England in particular that length of 
service is held to be the proper reward of fitness and fidelity, 
though Missouri was the first vState to send one man to the 
United States vSenate for thirty consecntive years. .She remains 
the only vState to .send two men to the United States Senate for 
tliirtx' consecutive years each — Col. Thomas Hart Benton and 
Gen. Francis Marion Cockrell. 

Of course the longer Senators Bulkeley and Brandegee serve 
tlie more the average of Connecticut Senatorial .ser^■ice will be 
increased. 

It is apropos to .state in passing that their immediate prede- 
cessors, Messrs. Pl.vtt and Hawle\'. .ser\-ed longer than anv 
other Comiecticut Senators, Senator Pl.\tt's .ser\-ice of more 
than twentj^-four years being greate.st of all. 

Of Connecticut's thirty-six Senators, six resigned: Oliver 
hnisworth, William S. Johnson, Jonathan Trumlnill, James 
Hillhouse, Chauncey Goodrich, and Truman Smith. 

They all resigned in the earlier days of the Republic, the 
last of them, Truman Smith, resigning in 1854. The re.sig- 
iiation habit appears not to be growing in Connecticut. 



I 2-1 /./A mill Characlcr of Orvillc //. I'latl 

As it is so unusual a tiling' fur a Senator of tlii; United 
States to resign, I have sought to discover the causes of their 
action, and here are the results of my investigations: 

Ellsworth resigned in 1796 to accept the Chief Justiceship 
of the Supreme Court of the United States, which office he 
resigned in iSoo by reason of failing health. He was then 
appointed envoy extraordinary to P'rance to negotiate a treaty. 

Johnson, a man of scholarly tastes, wearying of the hurly- 
burly of politics, resigned to become president of Columbia 
College, New York. \'ery recently we have seen a president 
of that college, now a university, resign to become mayor of 
New York. 

Trumbull resigned to become lieutenant-governor of Con- 
necticut. He was subsequently elected governor eleven times. 
The re.signation of Trumbull to accept the humliler position 
of lieutenant-governor seems inexplicable till we refre.sh our 
memories with the fact that in the beginning, before the 
Senate of the United States had practicalh- absorbed all the 
functions of government, member.ship in that Iwdy was not 
so much valued or coveted as it is now. l)e Witt Clinton, 
one of New York's greatest statesmen, resigned a United 
States Senatorship to become mayor of New York City — 
that, too, at a time when everybody knew that he aspired to 
the Presidency. 

Within the last half century several I'nited States Sena- 
tors have resigned to accept Cabinet po.sitions and places on 
the Supreme Bench of the United States; but, ,so far as my 
memory now serves me, the only man in our day to willingly 
dofT the toga of a Senator to accejH an inferior position was 
that immortal Texan — Judge John H, Reagan — who re.signed 
from the Senate to become head of the newly created Texas 
railroad connnissiou. 



At////yss (//' A/r. (lark, of Missouri 125 

vStrany;er even than the case of 'rruuilniU is that nf James 
Hillhiuise, whu resii^ned to become commissioner of the school 
fund, which position he held for many years. 

No reason is assigned in any book that I could find why 
Goodrich resigned. He was subsequently lieutenant-governor, 
but not inunediately. 

No reason is given in the books why Truman Smith gave 
up his curate chair, but as he removed to New York City it 
may l)e fairly assumed that business matters furnish the clue 
to his action. 

Nine of Connecticut's Senators died while members of the 
House of the Conscript Fathers: Roger Sherman, Uriah 
Tracy, Elijah Boardman, Nathan Smith, Thaddeus Betts, 
Jabez \V. Huntington, William A. Buckingham, Orris S. 
Ferry, and Orvili.k Hitchcock Pl.vtt. 

Three of her Senators were Presidents pro tempore of the 
Senate; James Hillhouse, Uriah Tracy, and Lafayette S. 
Foster. Strange to relate, two of them held that position 
in one Congress — Uriah Tracy having been elected May 14, 
iSoo, and James Hillhouse February 2S, iSoi. 

Besides Oliver Ellsworth, who.se service as Chief Justice 
renders his place in our annals secure for all time, two oth- 
ers, at least, of Connecticut's three dozen Senators are great 
historic personages — Roger Sherman and Jonathan Trumbull. 
Roger Sherman, in addition to holding a multitude of local 
and State offices, .served in the Continental Congress, being 
one of the committee of five appointed to draft the Declara- 
tion of Independence, the others being Thomas Jefferson, 
John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Robert R. Livingston. 
That great quintette appear together in the large painting. 
The vSigning of the Declaration, now hanging in the Rotunda 
of this Capitol. 



126 Life and Characirr of Orrillc If. I'latt 

Sberinan was also a member of that great couveiUioii which 
framed our Constitution. 

Having jnit his sign manual to the charter of our liberty, 
having aided in constructing the Constitution, he enjoyed the 
good fortune, the thoroughh- merited honor, of serving in 
both Houses of Congress under that Constitution. 
- He was the progenitor of niunerous distinguished soldiers, 
statesmen, and jurists. Two of his lineal descendants are 
Members of the present House — Hon. Rockwood Hoar, of 
Mas.sachusetts, and Hon. Henry Sherman Boutell, of Illinois. 
Representative Boutell has a .son named Roger Shennan Bou- 
tell. If that young man isn't a patriot, there is nothing in 
name or blood. 

The name Jonathan Trumbull stands for two illustrious 
men — father and son. The father is the " Brother Jonathan " 
whom Washington loved and leaned upon and whose name 
stands for the pers(Miification of the typical American. The 
son was the I'nitad States Senator from Connecticut and 
Sj)eaker of the IIou.se of Representatives. 

One other Connecticut Senator fixed for himself an endur- 
ing place in the temple of fame by offering the famous 
" Foote resolution," which precipitated the Webster-Hayne 
debate, the most spectacular and momentous oratorical con- 
test in the history of the Senate. Xolxxly can imderstaud 
our history without reading that debate, and nolxidy can read 
it intelligently without recurring to the Fcote resolution, 
which renders Foote's reputation a.s lasting as Webster's or 
Ilayne's. 

All in all. it may l)e safely stated that from the beginning 
to the present hour Connecticut's average of Senatorial 
ability has lx;en as high as that of any of her sister States. 

Men are prone to look, back to a golden age and to locate 



Address of Mr. (l(xrk\ of Missouri 127 

all the jrreat men in nencratiDns jiast. If a man's ivpnta- 
tion survives his own era at all, time becomes a threat mat;- 
nifier of him. The plain, unvarnished truth is that this is 
the world's period of greatest development. In man.\- re- 
spects this is the golden age. The public men of to-day are, 
on the average, equal to their predecessors in intellectual 
equipment. Divers men who are ranked as mere politicians 
now will be by the succeeding generations classed as states- 
men. 

To be a Senator of the United vStates even for one moment is 
a high honor — an honor which comes to few; but to be elected 
to the United vStates Senate for five full terms and to .ser\-e a 
quarter of a century is an honor .so rare that it has come to less 
than a score of men in our entire histor>'. This unusual honor 
was freely and gladh' bestowed upon Senator Pi.att b\- the 
good people of Connecticut. 

He was a leader among his fellows — one of the ruling elders 
of the Senate. 

Judged by the standard of things done rather than by the 
standard of things said, Senator Platt may fairly be denom- 
inated a great Senator. He would have been a potent member 
of any Senate. He was neither a voluminous nor an eloquent 
speaker. He was a strong and luminous speaker. He pos- 
sessed in an eminent degree the faculty of constructive states- 
manship — which is the rarest sort. He was bles.sed with 
unusual powers of generalization. By reason of thi.s faculty 
and of these powers he fastened his name to many important 
measures. He thus became a permanent historic figure. His 
memory will sur^'ive so long as men concern themselves with 
the great measures con.sidered in the stirring times in which 
he was on the public stage, for he placed his indelible mark 
upon most of the legislation of the last quarter of a century. 



128 Life niui Oninnttr of Orrillc II. Plait 



Address of Mk. Sherman, of New York 

Mr. SiiKKM.vx. Mr. Speaker, so il is that a brave, noble, 
unflinchiim man blazes a way through life which others may 
follow, confident that the ending will be beside waters that 
are still and fields that are green, starred with daisies and 
tinted with forget-me-nots and immortelles, where a haven of 
rest, not made with earthly hands, is waiting. 

Our friend has gone from among us, but the impress of his 
character, his life, and his manly qualities abides with us. 
He was brave, fearless not the bravery which at times .seems 
to compel strong men to maintain a position once taken, to 
refuse to modify jutlgment, to alter proix)sed action, but that 
bravery which feared not to meet argument, to ct)urt investi- 
gation, that welcomed additional light, and when convinced 
of original error of judgment, or of action, to modify and 
change it. 

Senator Pl.\tt was truly a great man— great in thought, 
great in deed, great in mind. He left an impress here which 
will long endure. In appearance he might be descril)ed as 
grizzled, tall, angular, not quick of movement, nor overalert 
of thought, but hone.st and persistent of purpose, clear of dis- 
cernment, accurate of judgment. His exterior contradicted 
his interior. Not in look did he evidence the kindliness and 
consideration of his nature. His voice had le.ss of the aus- 
tere than his presence. He was firm in his own convictions, 
yet con.siderate of the opinions of others. Ruggedly honest, 
he accorded honesty of thought and purpose to others. Idle 
prattle, passing rumor, moved him not. 



Adi/rcss (>/ Ml. SI/irii/(tii, of Nen' York 129 

He was strdiii; in his rricndsliips, a j^odd luvcr, luit sn <;i)iiil 
:i hattr. His conluleiiCL' shakt-ii, was not easil\- ix-t;ain(.(i, hut 
he chfrislie<l nut anininsitx. He ne\ei looked for trouble, 
\-et he ne\-er soni;lit exasion of lii-^ fidl share of lesponsihil- 
it\'. His full, fair measure of the e\-er\-day work of piiMic 
lite he did. He was not an orator, who stirred li\' eloquence 
of word or beaut\ nf phrase, >et he made exceeding clear his 
meaning, and 1)>- the siucerit\- of his bearing carried con\-ietion 
to other minds. 

The longevitx of his .ser\ice to his country was exceeded 
<)nl>- by its \'alue. Almost a decade after pas.sing the limit 
of man's allotted time, he served on. I never .saw evidence 
of his knowledge of the weight of \ears, though I have heard 
him express it. His erect form had not bent, his clear mind 
did not give e\-idence of his ^•ears. 

He had no failing period. Rugged and well he left us 
here, neither he nor his friends aware that the might\- work 
he had done had les.sened his vitality, so that he was an easy 
prey to malady. Inill of >ears and of honors, ha\ing light- 
ened many a burden, warmed man>- a heart, with the har- 
ness on he dro])ped. He left no half-jierformed task. His 
work was always current. In his death his country lost a 
competent and true jiatriot, his vState an illustrious rejire- 
sentative, his frieiuls a noble companion, mankind a fellow 
whose living made all living more worth while. 

As life's evening shadow becomes little 1>>- little more 
ajipareut, as one's thought in the gloaming of a Sunda\' are 
nujre and more of the retrospect, as we feel the enthusiasm 
and the energy of life lessening, the more startling the fact 
that human life is exceeding brief. vSo brief, indeed, that 
the greatest wonder of human existence is that any single 
indi\iilual may, even within its lengthened span, accomplish 
• S r)oc. 534.59-1 9 



130 Life and Character of Orxille IF. Pla/l 

eiioiijfh to iiiii)re.ss liis personality on his liviiij^ time, and 
leave an influence to act after his takinj;; away. That 
accoini)lishecl, a life has l>een well spent. Life's duties are 
many, are varied, are weighty. To meet them manfully, 
openly, without shrinking or evasion, to discharge them faith- 
fully, bravely, and well, means a discharge of the human 
duties divinity has placed upon man. 

|, Life's trials, too, are weighty. Ivndnred with patience, 
borne with fortitude, submitted to with resignation, they 
add nnich to the lovable side of character, and make for an 
impre.ss ujjou a cunnnuiiilx' which is ever felt. 

It is comforting and pleasant to look back ujxjn the life 
of one of our dear, good friends who has been taken away, 
and mark how well he withstood life's buflfets; how uncom- 
plainingly he bore its burdens, how meekly he accepted its 
honors and delights. Now, we know the why of something, 
perhaps, which he concealed or covered up during his .sojourn 
with us, and the .solution of the ])roblem adds to our admira- 
tion of his character and strengthens the lesson inculcated by 
his life. [Applause.] 



^liM/fss i>l Afi\ (',ros:<cii(>i\ a/ Ohio iJi 



Address of Mr. Grosvenor. of Ohio 

Mr. Grosvenok. Mr. vSpcaker, it is dm; to tlie memory of 
so distinguished a citizen that he who attempts liis eulogy 
should lie better prepared for facts and details than I am at 
the present moment. 

I l.)ecame acquainted with vSenator Pl.vtt at the time of the 
assembling of the Forty-ninth Congress, but m\' relation to 
him was not of that intimate character that brought me in 
close contact with him until several years after. He rejire- 
sented in the vSenate in part my nati\e State, and I fell toward 
him, as I do toward all the men of that vState, a great deal 
of interest. He was a warm personal friend and coiuiselor of 
the then Representative from the district in which I was born, 
the Hon. Charles A. Ru.s.sell, one of the many distinguished 
Representatives from Coiniecticut who ha\'e appeared upon 
this floor since I came. 

I v/as a Member of the House during the contest upon the 
McKinley bill, Init not so intimately acquainted with the affairs 
of that great measure as I was later, when the Dingley bill 
became the contro\'ers>- here. After the bill as passed in the 
House had gone to the Senate and been amended there very 
largely, it came to a connnittee of conference of which I was a 
member, and of \\iiich the Senator from Connecticut was ;dso 
a member. And then I learr.ed a great deal of the fine elements 
of his character in the long-drawn-out consultations in the 
Finance Committee room of the Senate over that measure. I 
learned this of his character; That he was a statesman who 



132 Lifr ami Cliaractir of Orvlllc If. I'latt 

looked at tlic whole of ilie United States. He took in llie inter- 
ests of the peo])le of tlic whole country, and while he carefully 
saw to it that no discrimination was made against the local 
interests of liis own Slate, he would have scorned to have un- 
dertaken to do an injustice because it would put money into 
pockets of his people. He was a bigger man than that. He 
had a better representative character. He co\-ered more ground 
than the State of Coiniecticut or any of the interests of New 
Kngland. 

I'pou the tarifT (juestion I considered him one of the l>est 
trained and best learned of the statesmen of his day. He 
did not champion the measures that he favored in the form 
of the advocate, but he looked at the que.stioii involved from 
the .standpoint of the statesman. I observed his career at 
ver\- near the clo.se of his life, when he ]iresided in the 
impeachment trial of Judge Swayne in the Senate of the 
United States. It was a po.sition of high honor to him. The 
requisites for the place were great legal learning and high 
qualities of judicial mind. There were, of course, very able 
men who appeared in the prosecution — some of the very ablest 
of the Representatives of this Hou.se — and they were advo- 
cates in the true sense of the word. A'arious questions arcse, 
.some of considerable complication, and in no instance was the 
ruling of the Presiding Officer negatived by any considerable 
vote of the membership of the Senate. And when the trial 
closed, as I was leaving the Senate after the final vote had 
been announced, I congratulated the Senator n])on the suc- 
cess that he had h.id in presiding in a controversy of such a 
bitter character as that was. He .said— and I remember his 
exact words — "Well, it is something to have the approval 
of both sides, and I seem to have .secured that." He was a 
man with a judicial mind. He was a fine lawyer and au 
able one. 



Address of .}rr. CJrosm/or, of O/u'o 133 

It is ail evriitful carcur that lirin^s a man ti) a luitalik- stand 
ing and position in the Senate of the Tnited Slates. l,et car- 
pers and critics say wliat they jilease, let men w lio li\-e and 
breathe and grow fat and disagreeable in the realm of liliel and 
slander and personal detraction harp ujion and criticise the 
Senate of the United States, it will always be recognized initil a 
mighty change takes place that the Senate oi the United States 
is a great body of great men. It .sometimes moves slowly, 
and we sometimes feel irritatetl at its conr.se in that behalf, 
btit at last when it makes a deci.siou upon a great question of 
politics, a great industrial question, a great legal question, the 
opinion of the Senate of the I'nited vStates in dignity and in 
m<iral effect upon the opinions of the world is .second to no 
body of men in the world. Therefore, that Senator Pi..\TT 
should have achieved high rank in the .Senate is evidence con- 
clusive that he was a man of sujierior ability and superior 
attainment. He was a gentleman who always appreciated the 
opinions of his opponents. I never heard him complain of the 
men he differed with. In the matters of legislation to which I 
have referred he .stood with unyielding purpose in favor of cer- 
tain local interests of hi,-, own State, but he fully appreciated 
that where the interests of his State collided with and ran 
again.st the interests of the great puljlic the minor interests of 
the vState must .step aside, and it will not be forgotten by some 
of us who were then active in the tarilT matters how gracefully 
and wisely he yielded to the ma.ss of opini<-in as again.st the pri- 
vate interests of .some of his own constituents. He was a 
broad-minded state.sman. a man of unqualified integrity, a man 
of high attainment in the walk of life in which he .ser\-ed. 
Connecticut, a grand old State, historical all along the line of 
our history-, has had no more fitting representative of her 
patriotism, her wisdom, her statesmanship than she had in the 



134 I'if'' '^"'^ Oiarui/tr of Ot"-i//f //. Pin// 

person of Okvii.lk II. Plati". lie carved his name modestly, 
but inefTaceal)ly iij^wu the records of his country. His work 
was well done and it was finished. He mi>;ht have iK-en useful 
for many years, hut he had earned reward and has entered into 
it. Honor to his name. His example to the men who knew 
him and to the men who are to come after him was valuable 
jK)liticall.v, legally, and patriotically. 

Mr. SrKKKV. Mr. S[)eaker, the .vjentleman from Ma.s,sachu- 
.setts [Mr. McC.\i.l] expected to lie present and address the 
Hou.se, but was, unfortunately, called awa\-. There are al.so 
several other Members who desired to sjx-ak on the charac- 
ter, life, and services of the late Senator Pi,.\tt, but who 
will not have the opportunity on account of the hour fixed 
for adjournment. I therefore ask unanimous consent that 
Meinl>ers who desire be permitted to print remarks relating 
to this subject for the next thirty days. 

The Spk.vkkk jiro tempore (Mr. Dicnbv). Without objec- 
tion, the request of the gentleman from Connecticut will be 
granted. 

There was no objection. 

The Si'EAKKK pro temiwre. The Chair is reijuested to an- 
nounce that upon the adjournment of the House to-day the 
Memljers will form in a bod\' in this Hall, march tliron,i;h 
the east door of the Caj)itol, and proceed to the place of the 
exerci.ses. 

The hour of 2 o'clock and 15 minutes having arrived, the 
Hou.se, in jiursuance of its jirevions order, stands adjourned 
until to-morrow, at 12 o'clock noon. 



